Its Always Been You
by NekoYasha101
Summary: Ichigo and the group split. Ryou is left alone. Ichigo went with Masaya. But then she comes back in spring instead of summer, Ryou is wondering why. And whats happening between Masaya & Ichigo?
1. End of the Mew Mew's and Ichigo Leaves

1Its Always Been You

Note that _italic_ words are thoughts. Some times I'll specify who's thinking this, but most of the time I think its pretty obvious. It starts out in third point of view, though it does change. I will state when it does though. Pretty straight forward it think. See yaz and I hope you like it. Its my first! D

Chapter 1

(thoughts are from Ryou here)

Ichigo seemed to shimmer as she entered the café. Her face was so bright and happy._ Its my Strawberry. _Ryou couldn't help but smile in spite of himself. He stood there a little flushed as he watched her stumble over her own feet. She was such a klutz. Even after she was infused with the genes of the iriomote she still couldn't help but trip over things and make stupid mistakes.

Ichigo looked over at Ryou. He quickly hid his expressions and walked slowly over to her. She was about to protest about her being on time, which she rarely was, when Ryou flicked her on the forehead.

"Nice to see you on time for once Strawberry," he said simply before turning around to face the girls who stood before him in the almost empty café. "I am happy to say that you girls are free of your duty as the Mew Mews."

No one really responded to what he said. _Wonder what everyone's down about? _Ryou could remember a time when they were like this. It was at the beginning of this whole thing. Everyone was rather doubtful about the whole thing and what they wanted most was for it to end.

But now, with the end finally there, they weren't really sure if they wanted it to end. Ichigo would be leaving with Masaya. _How I wish it wasn't so!_ Mint was going with Zakuro to go to London for a modeling label of some sort. Lettuce had to leave, though she didn't tell Ryou why. _Wonder what that was all about?_ Pudding was off to visit her father and do shows for people. They all had things they were planning on doing, and yet they cherished the friendship they had gained over the whole experience. Each had learned about the other, both their flaws and their aspects. _Even someone like me had grown to be friends with all of them._

"Well, what's with the glum faces? Its over! Your done!" Ryou said cheerful, a fake smile on his face. _It really is over, but I don't know if I want it to end. _He looked over at Ichigo absently as he said this. _Ichigo..._She was the one that had suffered the most from the whole thing. Maybe it was because she was the leader, or maybe its just because of her nature, but she seemed to have been hurt the most by the whole thing.

Ichigo shifted slightly, then noticed Ryou was looking in her direction. "What? Is there someone on me?"

Ryou jerked awake. He had been admiring her beauty and remembering all the things that she went through. "No Strawberry," he said flicking her forehead again. "I was just remembering all the stupid things you've done in this café."

"Hey!" she said sternly, stomping her foot in protest. Then she though about it. She giggled lightly. Ryou rolled his eyes and flicked her again. He turned away, flatly saying "Baka Strawberry." _I'm going to miss you..._Ichigo just stood there, her face slightly flushed, though Ryou was turned away, so he didn't notice.

"Ichigo," she heard her name being called as she watched Ryou climb the stairs to his room. "ICHIGO!" Finally she looked away.

Mint had been the one calling her. She seemed slightly confused by Ichigo's lack of concentration. Keiichiro had already brought out a large cake for the girls, little figures like themselves designed in it.

"What were you doing?" Mint asked, apparently she hadn't noticed what it was that Ichigo had been looking at.

"Nothing," Ichigo said, smiling at Mint as she went over to meet with the others to marvel over the cake Keiichiro had made.

"Hmm..." Mint's mind raced as she tried to think of what it was Ichigo had been doing. She finally discarded her thoughts, not knowing what it was she had been doing, and went to get some cake before it was all eaten.

"Ohh! Its strawberry filled!" Ichigo squealed happily.

Ichigo had a large slice of cake on her plate as she made her way into the kitchen. "Needs some strawberries," she said to no one in particular. She opened up the fridge and quickly found some fresh strawberries. She giggled as she placed what seemed like a dozen strawberries onto her plate before going back to sit with her friends as they ate.

Ryou smirked as he watched her from the top of the stairs. She would never change. At least not in his eyes. She would always be the clumsy, crybaby that leads the Mew Mews. She would always be Ichigo, the girl he fell in love with. _Ichigo..._

Lettuce saw Ryou standing at the stairs as she was grabbing something to drink. "Umm..." she said as she began to blush a slight pink.

Ryou turned when he heard her. He smiled in her direction as he came down the stairs and made his way towards her. This of course made her blush more. "Hey Lettuce, how's it going? Do you like the cake?"

Lettuce blushed even more. "H-hey Ryou..." she said, obviously having faltered by the fact that Ryou had come over to talk to her. She shook her head as she remembered the question that Ryou had just asked her. "Oh no, this is a really good cake. Did you help make it Ryou?"

Now it was Ryou's turn to blush. He looked over at Ichigo as she took a bite out of one of the strawberries she had gotten from the fridge. _Ichigo..._Then he noticed that Lettuce was waiting for an answer, not having noticed where he had been looking. "I helped Keiichiro out a bit here and there. Though I did pick out what kind of cake we were going to make," he said, his thoughts trailing once again. _It is her favorite after all. Its so sweet, just like her..._

"So Lettuce," Ryou started, wanting to get his thoughts away from her. _Away from her, and the truth that she's leaving with him... _"Why is it that your leaving again?"

Lettuce shuffled slightly back and forth and looked down at her feet when she heard his question. "Well..." she began, but couldn't find the words. She wanted to tell him how she felt towards him, but she knew that he liked someone else. She wasn't sure who, but he drifted off in his thoughts all the time. She knew that it was someone special to him, but Ryou and herself were merely friends. A friendship that both needed and wanted to keep.

"If you don't want to tell me right now you don't have to," Ryou said, understanding her completely. Lettuce smile warmly at him. He and Ichigo were the only ones that truly understood him. Everyone else was still her friends, but they seemed to see through every barrier that she puts up. They were able to really get her. With Ichigo, it helped her to make a lot of new friends that she didn't expect herself to make. But with Ryou, he was always there for her and he always seemed to understand her. Though sometimes she wished he didn't understand her, when she was blushing because of him, or when she was thinking of him. She was almost positive that he knew she liked him.

Ryou smiled warmly to her before turning away and making his towards the rest of the group. Lettuce smiled slightly before following after him to join in the party.

(Ichigo's point of view)

"ICHIGO!" came several voices at once as Ichigo stood in front of the café, looking back at her friends. "WE'LL MISS YOU!" her friends yelled to her. Lettuce, Mint and Pudding were crying, while Zakuro and Keiichiro stood their with unreadable expressions on their faces.

_I cant believe that he isn't here! That jerk Ryou! _Ichigo pouted slightly as she stood before her friends. _Wait a minute... Why does it matter anyway? Its not like I care! I just thought he would at least say goodbye to me before I leave...I mean I'm going to be gone for a year before I can come back! He could at least show up!_

"We have to go now Ichigo," Masaya said as he waited in the back seat of his parents car. "If we don't go now..." he said, softly, though he sounded slightly paranoid. Ichigo had been standing there for some time just in silence. They were going to be late.

"I'm coming," Ichigo said, sighing that she had to leave. _I want to be with Masaya, but why is it that he wants to leave this place? Its my home, and I don't want to leave. But I guess I made the decision to follow him a while ago. I cant turn back now. At least I get to come back next year for summer vacation..._

(change to Ryou's view)

_Ichigo...Please don't be mad at me. I guess I just didn't want to say goodbye to you. Or maybe I didn't want to see the expression on your face at that moment. At least not up close..._Ryou stood hidden in the trees beside the café, watching as the scene unfolded. Mint ran up to Ichigo and have her a hug, then she turned and got into Masaya's car. Seconds later they had sped away down the road, disappearing into the distance. _My strawberry is gone..._


	2. Strange Dream and Memories with You

NekoYasha101: I think i'm suppose to say something like "I do not own tokyo mew mew" well duh...if i owned tokyo mew mew either ichigo and ryou, or ichigo and kish woud be together and masaya would be dead...i can dream...well enjoy!

Chapter 2  
Strange Dream and Memories with You

(Ryou's point of view)

Ryou slowly opened his eyes as the sun seeped through the window into his room, blinding him slightly as he did. He closed his eyes again quickly. _The perfect beginning to what promises to be a perfect day..._Ryou thought sarcastically to himself.

He groaned as he pulled himself out of bed. As he got up he stepped on a shirt and slipped, falling back onto the hard floor of his bedroom. _I guess I should really clean up this place..._he thought as he looked around at the sty that had collected on his floor. He basically cleaned what he needed to and left everything else sitting around. _I never used to let it get this bad...that is I never let it get like this back when she was still around. It's been half a year now hasn't it..._he thought, looking over at the date on his computer screen. _Ichigo..._

"Man, its only 8:00..." he said as he turned away from the screen. Sweat dripped down the side of his face as he sat on the floor, his thoughts on his dream from last night. _It's the same dream that I've been having for as long as I can remember..._

Ryou sat there on the ground as he recalled his dream from last night.

(Scene switches to Ryou's dream)

A creature, shrouded in smoke stood before a young girl as she knelt on the ground, blood stained her clothing, but whether from her or another he could not tell. She was holding the limp body of someone. He could not tell whether the person the girl held was alive or not, but she was clinging to the person desperately, almost in an attempt to wake him or her up. The girl was shaking in fear as the creature drew closer to her.

Then the images shifted to a hospital. He stood at the end of a hallway, watching as people rushed in and passed him. The faces were blurred, and the voices muffled out of recognition, even if he did know any of them.

Before he could wonder why he was there, a person on a stretcher was brought in. He could not see who it was, but his feet drew him after the stretcher as it sped off into a room to him left. Words above the room doors read ER.

As he stood at theentrance of the room, he watched as the people that had followed the stretcher in were being forced to wait outside while whatever needed to be done was underway. Quickly the doors were shut, leaving everyone blocked from the room and the person inside, including himself. The words he heard next caught him by surprise. Like before, he couldn't hear the exact words spoken so it was more like a sound, but as soon as they were said his heart skipped a beat. That's when everything began to blur and the air began to leave his lungs and wouldn't come back no matter how hard he tried. Quickly after he blacked out.

(Back to Ryou in his room)

That's when he would always wake up. Every night it would start the same, and in the end, he would black out and find himself sitting up in his bed, sweating furiously. He's always been able to remember the details, and yet the dream would never reveal the faces of those he looked at in his dream. They were always just out of reach for him to see.

Ryou looked over at the computer screen again, hoping that he had misread the time. He had not. It was 8:10 and he knew he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. He groaned and climbed back up to his feet, making sure not to step on any more clothes. He quickly went and took a shower, making sure it was hot so to wake him up. When he was done he pulled some pants on, forgetting about a shirt, and decided to go downstairs. Slowly, he made his way out of his room and down the stairs towards the café kitchen, hoping to make some tea.

As he entered the kitchen he passed this months calendar. It was Saturday, March 26th. Next week was spring break, so he wouldn't have to go into work at the university for a week. He was very relieved by this. Teaching university required lots of time being put into planning classes, and constantly making up tests and such so as to keep the class from slacking.

He had been asked to go work for the university only weeks after Ichigo and the others had left, offering him a job as a science teacher. He majored in all sciences, so it fairly easy for him. He was a natural, at least that's what the principle said to him. _Though he's the only one that says that..._he though to himself, remembering all the glares from the teachers he got.

"He's only a child himself," some would say.

"This schools slowly slipping away, letting someone as young as him teach," others would say.

Then there was the students he taught. He was basically the same age as most of them, maybe even a little younger. In class he was their teacher, and they treated him as such. But he knew that quite a few of the girls he taught had a crush on him, though he wasn't interest. Then there were some of the boys he taught who felt he was just here to hook up with some of the girls, which they were most definitely wrong about. When he heard these things, he would laugh at what they would say and walk away. One name seemed to always pop into his mind, no matter how hard he tried to forget it. _Ichigo..._

Ryou finished making the tea before pouring himself some and lazily sitting in one of the café chairs. He looked around the place absently, trying to keep his mind from straying, for if it were, it would find its way back to her.

When he went to work at the university he had to close the café. Itwouldbeclosed onlyuntil Keiichiro came back from his studies. Hopefully then they would be able to open up the place again. Though Keiichiro had been offered a job at the same university when he came back from his studies, so he was going to be as busy as himself. But still, together they may be able to handle the workload. The café hadn't really taken that much work anyway. It was the Mew Mew Project.

Since everybody left him, he had moved most of the tables and chairs into the storage room and brought in a few things for his work into the café area, but other then that, everything was the same. But, even though he had changed it around as to wash away the memories, they still remained. That was why he rarely remained in there long before going back to his room or down to his studies room to do some work.

After that last thought her mind drifted away. Then he found himself thinking about Ichigo. Memories flashed before his eyes as he looked around the café then. The first memory that came to him was when he first say Ichigo blush because of him.

(Ryou's memories... double space means new memory)

Ryou had just gotten out of the shower and pulled his pants on. He then got a bottle of water and gave some to R2000, who tweeted. He looked over as the door creaked open slightly, and he saw Ichigo standing there. He jumped back and in spit of himself screamed, "Whoa!", blushing furiously. Ichigo too was blushing a deep red.

"What are you doing here! Spying on me!" Ryou shouted at her as he pulled on a shirt.

"We need to talk. I've been working my butt off all evening and..." she said, avoiding his question. That was when Ryou's stomach grumbled.

"I'm hungry, want anything?" he asked.

Ichigo stood there for a moment before saying, "I'll be right back." When she returned she had a drink and two rice balls. "I'm good at making rice balls," she said blushing as she held out the plate for him.

"Rice balls? what a cheep meal..." Ryou said as he grabbed one of the rice balls.

"You ungrateful..."she said, her voice hushed.

"Hmm..."

"Yes?"

"This is pretty good," he said, smiling at her. He had taken a bite of her rice balls. They really were good.

"Really?"

She stood there slightly in shock as Ryou turned to R2000 and offered him some of the rice ball, which R2000 excepted.

Ichigo then began to blush, "umm..." she said as she put down the plate. "I have to go home!" she said as she spun around and raced out of the room and down the stairs. Ryou sat there, slightly in shock, wonder what was up with her.

_What was that all about? First she had been like spying on me when I didn't have a shirt on. That was kinda out of character for Ichigo. Then she made me rice balls, which were really good. After that she took off, looking slightly flustered, but by what! I'm still confused by that..._Ryou drifted off as the flashback changed to when he first wanted to make her happy...

"Hey," came a voice from behind Ichigo as she was thinking about Mint, who was bummed out about Zakuro.

"We're busy right now!" was Ichigo's response. Something came flying at her then. "What!"

Tweet was the sound that R2000 made when it stopped bouncing around in front of Ichigo.

"That's my gift to you," Ryou said turning to her. "I'm giving you the R2000. He can do a lot more than recover aliens. He'll help you out," smiling then. "And it will prevent a lot of screw-ups!" he said getting close to her face.

"How dare you!" Ichigo shouted at him.

That was when Ryou raised his hand. Ichigo prepared for him to slap her, but instead his hand found the soft fur of R2000. He was petting it as he said, "Goodbye R2000..." before he turned away and left.

_He was better off with her. She needed him in battle. Plus, I wanted to make her smile. She was so sad because Mint was upset. I guess I just acted, not really thinking at the time. I'm just glad I didn't tell her that's the reason I gave it to her. Ichigo...but why'd she have to name it Masha, after him...I was the one that gave it to her..._pout Flashback changed to the time when she danced with him...

Keiichiro played on the piano as they wadded back and forth on the boat that they were on. They were at a very fancy part, everyone dressed up. Mint and Zakuro fit in nicely, both having been to all sorts of parties like these. Lettuce was getting a lot of attention from the boys, though she looked a little nervous, and Pudding seemed to be having fun, she even made a new friend.

Ryou walked up to Ichigo, who was just standing there. Her hair was held up by pretty laced bows. She wore a laced dress that fell above her knees, with a large bow on the back that almost fell down to the floor. She wore the bell are her neck, and gloves with lace at the wrist.

"You look bored," Ryou began the conversation with. Which Ichigo took the wrong way.

Keiichiro started a new song on the piano, which was very sweet and full of life. Perfect to dance to. Ryou turned to Ichigo and said, "Lets dance."

"What?" she asked in shock. He grabbed her hand and took her to the dance floor. "Wait a minute. I'm a horrible dancer!"

"That's cool," was all Ryou said as he pulled her close and they started to waltz. They began to dance, Ichigo blushing furiously as she was being held close to Ryou. Ryou of course, knew how to dance, but as Ichigo had said, she was couldn't dance very well. She was freaking out. After a while Ryou said, "Cool!"

After he said that Ichigo closed her eyes and let her head rest on his shoulder as they waltzed. They danced like that for the remainder of the song. People had began to look at them towards the end of the song.

Finally the song ended and they parted. Immediately Ichigo became flustered. She stepped away and said, studdering the whole time, "I'm gonna go powder my nose," before she took off, blushing furious, though she wasn't sure if Ryou had seen.

_That was a very memorable moment. She was so warm when I pulled her against me. I can still remember her stumbling as she was trying to dance. She stepped on my foot if I recall. She'll always be a klutz. But how I loved it when she let her head rest against my shoulder! I felt so close to her then, like me and her were on the same page, enjoying the dance. _Another flashback to Alto...

"Alto wait!" Ichigo shouted as Alto tried to wiggle his way out of Ichigo's arms. "I want to check if your okay," she said trying to hold onto him. "Why are you trying to escape?"

That's when Alto went ridged. "Huh?" Ichigo said in confusion as Alto began to glow. Seconds later she was thrown to the ground andtwo hand came down and made contact with the ground inches away from both sides of her head.

"Times up..." came a voice from above her. Then she realized who it was. Ryou! Ichigo was lying on the ground, with Ryou on top of her, his hands only inches away from her head.

"Ryou..."

"What's up? How are you?"

"Ryou!" she shouted, blushing furiously as she held Ryou's head up with her hand placed on his forehead.

"Oh well, now you know," was all he said before Keiichiro came. "Sorry Keiichiro, she found out."

Then Keiichiro told Ichigo about Ryou's family and how Ryou and himself came to doing the Mew Mew Project. He explained to her the horrible accident that took both his father and mother's lives, leaving Keiichiro and Ryou alone to finish what Ryou's father had started.

"Is this going to be safe?" Ryou had asked Keiichiro when they were almost ready to start the Mew Mew Project.

"Its too late now...According to our data, it shouldn't harm the human body," Keiichiro said.

That was when Ryou picked up the injection gun and said "This is the final experiment."

"I was just taking responsibility for involving all of you," Ryou said when Keiichiro had finished telling Ichigo his story.

Ryou and Ichigo then had a little fight which involved NekoIchigo kissing Pudding and having to hide it from her. "I'll never feel sorry for you again!" Ichigo shouted at Ryou, very mad at him.

"That's exactly what I want to hear!" Ryou responded.

As Ichigo walked pass Ryou to go to the café she whispered, "I will do my best, Ryou..." before going to meet up with the rest of the gang at the café. Ryou looked back at her, surprised by what she said.

..._I really didn't want her to find out about that. I thought she wasn't going to care at all, but it turned out differently. She actually cared that I went through a lot. D_

(end of flashbacks...back in café)

He had just come out of his daydream when he heard a click of the cafe's lock being opened. Before he could do anything the door opened. _But who would have a key. All the girls have gone off on their own, and Keiichiro isn't coming back until near the middle of spring break. Who could it be then?_

He had just stood up when he heard a voice say, "Ah! Ryou, put a shirt on!" At the sound of this voice he turned around, and found himself inches away from a very familiar face.

**That's the end YAYA...hope people liked it...this one took forever to write cuz I had to get all my facts correct...since I've collectedall the books I had to go through them all when doin the flashback to make sure it was all good and that all my facts were right...i did most of it word for word there...so its really accurate on the flashbacks...I hope its an okay cliffie...he he he...well anyways I hope people like it...I was kinda rushed...I didn't want to just leave people with the first chapter...That's not very fair...well plz review...if u want to D bye de bye D**


	3. Chocolate Pancakes

sorry for not updating sooner ... its hard with older sisters and devorced parents ... and then theres school ...grade 9 is murder ! i have pat coming up so ive been busy ... well here chapter 3 ... hope you enjoy it !

NekoYasha101: Once again….I think the phrase that I'm to say is "I do not own Tokyo mew mew" ….way to ruin my dreams people…now how am I to sleep tonight ... tear

Chapter 3  
Chocolate Chip Pancakes

(Ryou's point of view)

He had just stood up when he heard a voice say, "Ah! Ryou, put a shirt on!" At the sound of this voice he turned around, and found himself inches away from a very familiar face.

He stepped back in surprise, forgetting that the chair he had just been sitting in was right behind him. There was a loud thud as he fell backwards, his legs caught on the chair while the rest of him body fell to the cold floor. _That's twice today I've fallen now. I'm slowly turning into Ichigo! _That's when he remembered the intruder that had startled him, causing him to fall in the first place.

He looked up at the familiar face as the red head leaned over the chair to look down at him while he lay uncomfortably on the floor. _Am I dreaming? It can't be…_

"And you call me clumsy," the red head said, laughing at her own joke.

_That laugh, that voice, the smell of strawberries. I'm not dreaming…she's really back! Ichigo! My strawberry! _He wanted to jump up and hug her. He wanted to take in the scent of strawberries that was slowly filling the room along with her presence. He would even tell her how he felt about her, even if only to get the feeling that haunted him from building in his stomach any more. He was just so happy to have her back! _Why is she back? What about her and Masaya? _With that thought he withdrew all the things he wanted to do back into his mind, his stomach starting to build up as he did this. _Best not press it. Don't want to wake up and find out this is a dream.

* * *

_

(3 rd person point of view thingy….no ones thoughts)

Snapping back to reality he noticed he was just looking up at her. She was starring back at him, though she looked slightly uncomfortable under his gaze.

"You just startled me," he said as he pushed her off the chair and got up. His legs hurt from the odd way he had landed. "That doesn't count as being clumsy. Even if it did," he said as he stepped over to her as she stood before him. He then flicked her nose and finished, "Your still a bigger klutz then me, you baka strawberry."

He thought he saw a flicker of joy cross her face as the sound of her nickname, but was quickly replaced with a pout. He quickly discarded the thought though, it was Ichigo after all.

"I'm not a baka!" she said sharply. "You…jerk!"

Ryou laughed. She still couldn't come up with any good comebacks. That was almost the only thing she could think of when he would call her a baka. "Good to see you haven't changed."

She turned away quickly, walking towards the kitchen. She was blushing slightly, and by turning away, she was hoping he hadn't noticed. "I just came back, and I thought I'd come to see the place. I'm going to grab myself something to eat, I'm starving," she said, a little flutter to her voice. She had missed this place, even the people in it. She blushed some more.

Ryou of course, being the intelligent person he is, totally missed the blush that had come to her face, or the flutter in her voice, or even the git in her step as she walked into the kitchen.

"I'm going to go and put a shirt on now," he said as he hurriedly made for his room. From the kitchen Ichigo muttered, "Good," in a fake voice.

* * *

In his room, Ryou grabbed a clean t-shirt from the almost empty dresser and felt to return to the kitchen, afraid Ichigo might have managed to destroy the kitchen in his absence. When he came back down Ichigo had her head in the fridge. He simply smiled and made his way into the kitchen, his own stomach growling as he did. 

"You hungry?" Ichigo asked as she turned to look at him from the fridge, noticing he was wearing his favorite shirt. After asking him she returned to searching the fridge, for strawberries no doubt. His stomach growled again in response. Ryou blushed a light shade of pink at that, though Ichigo didn't notice. She simply laughed and continued to search through the fridge.

"Um…" he said looking over her shoulder into the fridge. "The strawberries are right there," he said pointing to the middle shelf. They had been hidden behind the lettuce.

Ichigo quickly pushed the lettuce to the side and grabbed the box of strawberries. Smiling up at Ryou she placed them on the counter, and then went back into the fridge, looking for something else. She hid the blush that covered her face, both from him being so close to her, and because he had known what she had been initially looking for.

"What are you looking for now?" He asked, leaning closer in, his chin almost resting on her shoulder now.

"I learned a thing or two about cooking while I was oversea. I'm going to make us something," she said, not turning to him. She was still blushing.

"You don't have to," Ryou said simply, his face hiding any emotions he was feeling.

"I have nothing else to do," she said as she grabbed a handful of different things, turning on the burner as she began going into the cupboards.

Ryou leaned against the wall as he watched Ichigo in amazement. She was cooking! And she wasn't burning anything either! From watching her he determined that she knew what she was doing, so after realizing that he wasn't needed, he leaned again the wall. That was about five minutes ago.

He was finally figuring out what it was that she was making. He figured out quickly enough that it wasn't anything too big. And by the way she was making it, and the things she put in it, it was something that he had most likely eaten before. The style that he was using definitely looked like it was from here.

She placed some of the batter she had made into a pan that had been heating on the stove. As it was sizzling she grabbed a bowl and put the strawberries into it. She then turned to Ryou and held out the bowl. "Go put this on a table, and grab some chairs for us to sit around it while you're at it," she said, having noticed the change he had made. "After that you can set the table," she said as she turned back to the stove and tended to what it was she was making, adding something that Ryou couldn't see as she flipped it over.

"Hai mother," he said quietly, though he knew she heard him. He snickered to himself at the comment. She would get mad at him later for that, but it was worth it.

Ichigo turned to say something in response, but sizzling came from the pan as she flipped the batter again and placed it on a plate beside the stove. As she poured more batter onto the pan, she made a mental note to get mad at him later for that comment.

* * *

Ichigo brought over what she had cooked and sat down beside Ryou as he finished setting the table and sat himself down. He laughed lightly when he saw the chocolate chip pancakes on the plate she had just set on the table. 

Ichigo pouted when she heard him laugh. She used to not be able to cook the simplest things. And now that she could, she was proud of it, and liked to show that she could. Plus, oversea she had learnt a few tricks to make them very tasty! She snickered as she though of what Ryou's face would look like when he took his first bite.

"Just eat it! They're really good, and it's the perfect time to have them anyways," she said as-a-matter-of-factly as she grabbed her fork and stabbed the pancake on the top of the pile, bringing it onto her plate.

Ryou looked over at the clock, realizing that it was almost eleven o'clock. He was surprised that the hours had gone by so fast. Normally he would sit around waiting for the time to come for him to make his lunch, not wanting to eat too early.

Quickly he thought of something to say about her cooking as he grabbed a pancake and a few strawberries. "I'm crossing my fingers that you don't give me food poisoning," he said, grinning mockingly in her directing as he cut himself a slice of the pancake and stuffing it into his mouth.

He saw Ichigo shift her gaze of to him, even though her head was down towards her plate. It was good, but was he actually going to tell her that? Once before she had cooked for him, but when he said that he liked it, she had stormed out in a flutter. What would she do this time? Would it be just as easy to make something up to annoy her?

Before he could ponder anymore on the subject he spoke the words out of control, "These are actually really good! What'd you put in them?" he was astonished by his own words. He quickly stuffed a strawberry into his mouth before he could say anything more.

* * *

( Ichigos point of view for a minute here )

Ichigo giggled when she saw his face. He had smiled up at her from his plate. Then it seemed he noticed what he had said. A slightly shocked looked spread across his face, then he quickly shoveda strawberryin his mouth, almost like to keep himself in control.

* * *

( Back to third person or whatever it would be...thingy-mabob)

Ichigo took another bite, then remembered the comment he had made earlier when she was ordering him around the kitchen. She laughed inwardly at what she had done. It was true, she had been acting like a mom in a way, but it was fun. He had obeyed, and even though he had commented on it, he didn't seem to mind too much. But all the same she decided that she would scowl him a little for his words.

"Ha, so there, my cooking isn't that bad after all! And about that comment before, I am not a mo-" she started to say, but was quickly interrupted.

"Why are you here?" Ryou asked softly, his voice drained completely of emotion. He was avoiding eye contact with her, his eyes glued to the pancake that he was poking at with his fork.

Ichigo was stunned by his words. She had avoided the subject as long as possible, even though she knew he would ask about it sooner or later. She had just hoped later.

"Well, its spring break, and all the girls are off doing their own thing, so I thought I'd come over here and see what you're doing. Is that so wrong?" she asked smugly. She knew that he had not meant his question like that, but for some reason she didn't want to answer his question, so she tried to avoid it completely.

"I mean why aren't you overseas with Masaya? You shouldn't be back until the summer. You said so yourself before you left," he said, continuing to poke at his pancake.

Ichigo felt a lump form in her throat at his question.

_Well thats it ! hope u liked it ! it took some thought...i didn't want to make ryou seem girly or anything with him wanting to know why ichigo was there...but i couldn't have him yelling at her...or crying or anything like that...he had to be the same confused, emotion hiding ryou we all know and love! Masaya will be coming into the picture latterz...complicating everything and all as usual...then theres kish and pie and tart and the reast of the mew mews ! oh ya ! they definately will be coming back ! cant wait ! hope people are liking this so far ... its still getting to the plot and all ... but i really am having fun with this story ! _

_thnz to my reviewers ! hope u guys like this chapter 2 ! _

_And Chris...I unblocked u just so uz know ! Way to Be ! _


	4. I Suck At Lying!

_NekoYasha101: hey yuaz ! so as always ... I don't own tokyo mew mew ... ending would sooo be different if I did ... well anyways ... hope u like this ..._

**_Quick comment ... in this chapter ... there is a lot of changes between points of views ... specially since Ryou is suppose to show no emotions ... so I kinda have 2 do it like this ... I know it looks kinda bad with all the switches ... but I hope it turns out 2 peoples likings ...

* * *

_**

**Last Chapter:**

"Why are you here?" Ryou asked softly, his voice drained completely of emotion.

"Well, its spring break, and all the girls are off doing their own thing, so I thought I'd come over here and see what you're doing. Is that so wrong?" she asked smugly. She knew that he had not meant his question like that, but for some reason she didn't want to answer his question, so she tried to avoid it completely.

"I mean why aren't you overseas with Masaya? You shouldn't be back until summer. You said so yourself before you left," he said continuing to poke at his pancake.

Ichigo felt a lump form in her throat at his question.

* * *

**Chapter 4  
**I Suck At Lying!

(Ichigo's point of view)

_What does he expect me to say? I cannot tell him. Knowing him he would laugh at me and say proudly, "I told you so!" ...I will not let him do that! He just cannot find out about this! But what am I to say to him then? He knows just as well as myself that I suck at lying...so what do I do? This is making my brain hurt! Stupid baka Ryou! He always does this to me. _She sighed then. _What am I going to tell him?

* * *

_

(Ryou's point of view)

Silence hung over them after what he last asked. He had half expected her togetmade at him and shout"it's none of his business!" But she was just sitting there, starring off into the distance, her thoughts elsewhere. _Is that baka going to say anything?_

He pulled his eyes away from his pancakes and looked over at her. _What the?_ Ichigo was sitting on the other side of the table, completely consumed in her thoughts. But to him, he saw her starring off at something unknown. She was fidgeting and shifting in her chair. _What is she doing?_

"Ichigo..." he said her name, a slight irritation in his voice. It looked like she was avoiding his question completely. She did not answer his call. _That baka! I'll give her a piece of my mind..._ he thought as he called her name again, louder this time. "Ichigo!"

* * *

(Ichigo's point of view)

One question hovered around in her mind as she thought. _What am I going to tell Ryou?_ She had tried countless times already to come up with something, anything, that might pass as the truth and yet she drew a blank each time. She always came back to the same thing. She either told the truth, or lied, something she was bad enough at already without having to come up with something on the spot.

As her thoughts traveled she faintly heard her voice being called out. She turned her heard slightly, though she didn't really look at who was calling her name. Her thoughts, and total concentration was still on figuring out what she was going to say to Ryou.

* * *

(Ryou's Point of View)

Ichigo turned when he called her name the third time. But what he saw caught him off guard. Her eyes were glazed slightly, like she was deep in thought. She hadn't been avoiding his question after all. In fact, she seemed to be trying to come up with a lie to tell him. _That baka. She sucks at lying. Did she really think she'd be able to lie to me? _He laughed at that thought. Everyone, and by everyone he meant anyone who had ever met Ichigo could tell when she was lying."Baka strawberry..." he said to himself as he continued to watch her.

That's when her gaze shifted to stare straight back at him. For a minute she just watched him, then she shouted, almost in a panicked voice, "It's none of your business!"

Ryou burst into laughter then. He even shocked himself at what he did. Quickly, he tried to regain his composure and refrain himself from any more outbursts. But on the inside, he was still laughing. _Ha! I knew she was going to do that! She couldn't even come up with a lie? She's so predictable sometimes..._he thought as he finally came out of his laughing fit. "Baka strawberry..." he said, the only thing he could come up with as Ichigo starred at him in awe. _Your not the only oneshocked by that Ichigo... _He rolled his eyes then and prepared for the little battle that was expected to follow his usual nickname for her.

Ichigo was shaking a fist at him at those words. On the side, Ryou had laughed at what she said, something she had not expected. She tucked away the thought for later questioning, but one thing was certain, some things had changed...but not his insults. He always had said those words to her, and oh how they made her temper flare! At least he hadn't flicked her that time... "Why you ... ignor-"

She was interrupted when the café door swung open abruptly and sunlight filled the café. In came a smiling Masaya, dressed in nicely pressed black pants and blue long sleeve shirt. He looked like he had just come from work, even though he was still in school.

Ryou's eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of Masaya. He was perfect as Ichigo used to say. _"Too perfect if you ask me," _would be Ryou's whispered reply to no one at all.

He chuckled lightly when he saw what he was wearing, and the expression on his face was priceless to him. He looked aged slightly, almost like the new school had worn him out. He wore cloths that were meant for people much older then he. Overall, Ryou found his appearance rather worn and out of date, even funny, but definately not perfect. _Definatelynot perfect!_

"Hey Ichigo!" Masaya said, smiling at the two as he came over to stand before them. _And what an annoying voice! Man I hate this guy!_

Ichigo sighed then. Ryou looked over at her as she replied, "Hey Masaya." She was smiling, but unless Ryou had read the look wrong, it seemed to him like it had been forced slightly.

"Hey..." Masaya started, trailing off when he tried to think of Ryou's name. "Sorry, but what's your name again?"

Ryou huffed slightly, trying tokeep his anger down,as he gathered his plate and utensils up. "Not that its any of your business, the names Ryou" he said sharply. Then he added in a whisper to himself , with a sharp tone in his voice, "And you had best not forget it," as he walked past Masaya and into the kitchen. He didn't really care if he had heard him or not.

"Thanks for the pancakes Ichigo," Ryou muttered as he grabbed some saran-wrap and put it over the plate, then opening the fridge and placing the almost still full pancakes in the fridge. "I'll see you later," he said, his voice emotionless again.

* * *

(Ichigo's point of view)

Ichigo, seeing Ryou awkwardly move into the kitchen to be away from Masaya, grabbed the regaining pancakes and gathered up the strawberries and moved into the kitchen to help clean up. She was not surprised when his voice returned to the old emotionless, dry voice that she had listened to order her around only half a year ago. He was hiding behind that wall of his again, and it made her mad. For a just a little bit she had seen some emotion coming from him. First the laugh, and then when he saw Masaya. Even when he had asked her why she was there, he was trying to hid the emotions that had spread across his face. But now he was the same old Ryou again. It angered her slightly, though she didn't know why. And that comment he made didn't make her any happier.

Masaya called to her from the kitchen. "So Ichigo, you mom said you were here. So I came by..." he trailed off then. "...I was wondering if you wanted to go to the movies when your done here?"

* * *

(Ryou's point of view)

Ryou stiffened when he heard what Masaya had asked. He was asking her out on a date! _Didn't he realize that we had been hanging out ... if that's what you want to call it ... but still, he came in and acts like he's the only one that matters. _His fists clenched and he tried to suppress the scowl that was leaving his lips, hoping Ichigo hadn't heard. _If only Ichigo didn't like him, I would have..._he let his thoughts trail as he his anger grew as the silence filled the kitchen.

* * *

(Ichigo's point of view)

Ichigo had just finished covering her plate and putting it in the fridge after Ryou. She looked over at Ryou as he put the frying pan in the sink to rinse. She could have sworn she saw him clench his fists. And had she heard a faint scowl? _He really doesn't like Masaya, does he? _She thought to herself, before realizing that Ryou was still standing at the sink, hiding his face, and Masaya was waiting for her answer.

Her hands quickly found the hem of her shirt, and she began fidgeting with it, twirling it and inspecting it as it way in between her fingers.A new little habit of hers._I to get Masaya away from Ryou before he snapped. I know he didn't like him, and it doesn't help that Masaya had come in here while we were hanging out ... if you can call it that ... and asked me to go out with him. Sometimes I wonder about him ... _she let her thoughts trail off as she said the first thing that came to her mind, "Sorry Masaya, but I have to unpack my stuff. But if you meet me outside, you can walk with me home." _Damn, why'd I have to say that? Now Ryou's going to want to know what I ment by unpacking! Way to be you baka!_

Masaya nodded in understanding and left the café to wait for her outside. Ichigo let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, letting her shoulders relax. _He believed me !

* * *

_

(Ryou's point of view)

_Unpack! What was she unpacking! Had she come back to live here ! But what about Masaya ! They seemed to still be going out ... at least that's what Masaya seems to think. So what was she talking about ... unpacking! And she still hasn't answered me as to why she is back! That baka strawberry better start talking!_

He looked over at Masaya as he left the café. Instantly the tension in his stomach lifted, and he let out a breath he had been unconsciously holding. He let his hands relax, his knuckles white from the hard fists he had been making.

That was when he looked over at Ichigo. She seemed slightly fragile as she let her arms hang limply by her side. He sighed when he looked over at her. She looked tired. Not too long ago though, she had had lots of energy. It was as if talk about coming back and Masaya's coming had drained a lot of energy from her. His anger and confusions washed away as he looked over at the exhausted girl.

He tried to think of something that he could say to make her a little more lively. Anything, as long as it gave her some of her unique 'Ichigo' personality.

"Yoh, strawberry..." he said, causing her to turn around and face him. Just them he got right up close to her face and said softly, "boo."

She jumped at that. Wether from the closeness, or simply from fright he could not tell, but she regained some of her cheerful self non-the-less. He watched as she jumped back, turning away from him, then spin around and shouted sharply, "Why you big jerk!"

He grinned evilly then, and once again Ichigo took note that he had let his wall slip again at that moment. "I might be a jerk," he said, leaning in close to her face again so they their noses were inches from touching, "but your still a baka strawberry." That was when he brought up his hand and flicked her on the forehead.

His grin widened as he watched her spin around and stomp out of the café, huffing and puffing as she did. After she was gone though, the emotional wall was slipped back into place and he looked blankly at the café doors, knowing all to well that she was with that kid, if he can even be called that, Masaya.

* * *

(Ichigo's point of view)

Ichigo sighed as he left the café. She saw Masaya sitting on a near by bench waiting for her. _I had hoped he had gone home ... _she thought to herself and let a pout spread across her face before she forced a smile in its place. Then she walked over to Masaya and they made they way back to her place.

* * *

**_OOOO ! whats with the forced smiles ... ? and why did she come back early ? All shall be revealed soon ! ull just have 2 wait until then ! And ... to answer anybody wondering if there is going 2 be some action (not only kissing (fluffies!) but also fighting!) ... later on i am hoping that there will ! Hope all my reviewers liked this one ! hope its not too confusing ! well anyways ... latterz ! hope u like it !_**


	5. Noticing Changes

wow ... so im done chapter 5 ... this one might not be very eventfull ... but it shows that there are concerns for one another ... and of course ... ichigo not knowing what to think of ryou ... and then theres masaya ... not saying anything more ... he he he ... well anways ... hope you like it ... plz review ... want 2 know what u people think ... if there's any suggestions ... plz tell me ... latterz

**Note: ruler lines ... mean either a point of view change ... which would then be noted ... but if no note saying otherwise ... the scene has changed in a way ... maybe 10 mins latter or watever it is ... just so yuaz all know**

Chapter 5  
**Noticing Changes**

(Ryou's point of view)

Ryou woke up a little before eleven the next day. His head was throbbing for some unknown reason. After a moment, he realized he had fallen out of his bed sometime in the night, seeing as he was lying on the cold floor now. He shifted his head to check the time, groaning at the pain that seared through his neck and head at the motion.

"At least I was able to sleep in today..." he said to himself as he pulled himself up. Slowly he got himself into the shower, half asleep still.

Flashes of the dream he had last night lingered in his mind. The first dream he had was of Ichigo. _She was sitting on a bench. It was late at night, the street lights on. Behind her sat a forest of trees. He figured she was near the park. She was just sitting there, darkness slowly engulfing her face. Then, out of nowhere, her cell phone rang. After the second ring she looked at who it was. She never answered it. She just let it ring until the person got her voice mail. Then everything got dark._

That was when the second dream took hold. _She was running now. It looked like the same place as before, the park. She was surrounded by trees. She looked lost, though she didn't seem to be trying to find her way. She looked panicked, like something was chasing her, or she was trying to escape something. Her cell phone was ringing constantly in the background. Whoever it was that was calling was not giving up. She gripped the phone tightly, though she didn't look to see who it was calling. She continued running into the darkness around her. _After that it went to the dream that he had been having the last while, starting with the girl leaning over the limp body of someone, the hidden creature standing before her.

* * *

Ryou pulled himself out of the shower and dried himself off. After pulling on his pants, he looked around his room, clothes scattered everywhere. For some unknown reason, he suddenly became furious with the way the room looked. He set down the water bottle he had just filled in the sink and began to clean. 

It didn't take him too long. He still remembered where everything went, and easily got back into the habit of cleaning things up. He grabbed a clean shirt and his water bottle and went downstairs to grab something to eat.

He pulled his shirt on as he entered the café kitchen, shirt half over his head. After hearing a soft squeal, he fulled it down the rest of the way. He stood at the entrance to the kitchen, alone. _What? I thought I heard something ... _he thought to himself as he looked around. Finally he looked at the café entrance, seeing the red headed, pigtailed girl standing in the entrance, knees slightly buckled as she held onto a heavy brown bag.

He raised an eyebrow in question at the sight of the girl.

* * *

(Ichigo's point of view)

**Earlier that Day**

She had woken up around eight-thirty. After lying in bed for another fifteen minutes, she pulled herself out of bed and jumped into the shower, determined to do something today. After getting out of the shower and picking out a cute little outfit to wear, she went get some breakfast. She then found the note from her parents telling her they would be gone for the day and that she would have to make her own breakfast. She shrugged and began to make herself something. It wasn't anything big. Oatmeal.

Once done eating, she looked over at the clock. It was nine-twenty-five. None of her friends would be up yet, so she couldn't call anyone to make plans. So she watched t.v. while she waited for the time to pass. Nothing was on. Of course That's to be expected on a Sunday at nine-thirty in the morning.

She sighed after flipping through all the channels and looked at the clock. It was almost ten. She decided that it would be okay to call her friends now. They might still be trying to sleep, but she was bored and couldn't take waiting around any longer.

Grabbing the house phone she began to dial all her friends numbers. After about forty minutes, she hung up the phone for the last time. None of her friends could do anything. Some already had plans with others or their boyfriends, while others had to do chores and such around the house.

_How lame. First day officially back and no one can hang out. _Everyone was still to tired to have noticed that it was her calling, all thinking nothing of the fact that their friend had been gone half the year now, and then suddenly called them up to hang out. _This sucks!_

Ichigo sighed and tried to think of something to do. She had just come back from overseas, so you'd think she'd have lots of things to do. And all her friends would want to hang out with her and find out how the trip was, not to mention wonder way she was back early. And yet she had nothing to do. _Lame, lame, lame! That's what it is, lame!_

She would have called Mint, or Lettuce, or any of the other Mew's if they were still here. But they had left shortly after her, going on adventures of their own. Keiichiro was still off doing his studies. And Masaya...

That's when her thoughts shifted to Ryou. A lot had happened yesterday. Just before she left he had been a real jerk. Wether it was to lighten the mood or just because he's a jerk she wasn't sure. _It's not like I can just go ask him. For one, he would never tell me how he feels. And two ... well what if I'm wrong? It would be so awkward._

But he was the only other person to hang out with, other then Masaya, but ... So she decided to go over to his house then. But she couldn't just go over there. She would have to have a reason. That was when the picture of his fridge came into her mind. A lot of the things were getting old and it was obvious that he wasn't going to be going and getting new stuff any time soon.

A smile spread across her face as she left the house for the café, determined to find his wallet and get some groceries.

* * *

It was almost eleven by the time she got back from the grocery store. It had taken her ten minutes to find his wallet in his room. The place was a sty. Clothes both clean and dirty scattered the floor. It was obvious he hadn't cleaned the place in a while. She had finally found his wallet in the back pocket of one of his jeans. 

She was now walking up the path to the café, humming to herself as she did. She felt she was doing something good. Ryou obviously hadn't been taking the greatest care of himself of the late. She didn't think it was anything serious, but it wouldn't hurt to give him a little push back into the direction that was in before.

One thing that had seriously changed was his mood. That was what concerned her the most. He usually was good at hiding his emotions. But in the one day she discovered that the wall would sometimes slip away fairly easily. Both to reveal a good mood, and a bad mood. But then it would just as easily be slipped back, covering his emotions. He seemed to be trying to keep his emotions in check, but Ichigo knew that it was never good to mask emotions. _Oh boy do I know ... Masaya ... _She shook her head, thinking again about Ryou. He seemed to have been affected by being alone for half a year. When she looked back, he always had someone there by his side, wether he wanted them there or not. Even if he didn't confide in them, he still had someone there. _I'm not even sure I'd be able to handle being alone for half a year. I'd probably be breaking down too ..._

As she opened the café door her thoughts cleared. She looked over to see Ryou walking down the stairs from his room. His hair was still wet, so she guessed he had just gotten out of the shower. Once again, he didn't have a shirt on. At least this time he had brought one with him. The shirt was over his head, when she let out a small squeal. _Cures! He had to have heard me! Stupid baka! _She felt her knees buckle as little, wether from the heavy brown bag of groceries she was holding, or from the picture of a wet Ryou walking down the stairs, with no shirt on, she did not know. She hoped it was the first of the two. _I think ..._

She saw him look over at her. After a minute of looking at her, he raised an eyebrow in question. _What to do, what to do ..._

"You could at least come and help me instead of standing there. This is just a little heavy..." she said sharply, trying to keep her mind out of the gutter. He shrugged and started over to help her. She left her legs buckled a little more as he came over to help her. _Mind out of the gutter! _She had to resist as her hand tried to make its way to bang against her head to help her get her mind away from the picture of Ryou, wet and shirtless, that kept flashing before her eyes.

* * *

(Third Person...thingy...no ones thoughts...yuaz)

When Ichigo just stood at the entrance starring blankly after Ryou, he raised an eyebrow in question. He placed the brown bag on the counter of the kitchen, then turned to her.

"Yoh, baka strawberry!" he shouted over to her.

That got her attention. She whirled her head over to she was looking over at him as he leaned over the counter, looking at her. Her fists clenched slightly at her nickname. "I am not a baka!" she scowled between showing teeth.

As she turned the corner to face him, she slipped on the slick floor. With a thud she landed on her butt. She winced and closed her eyes. It was obvious that it had hurt. When she opened her eyes again, she looked up at Ryou. A small smile played across his face as he looked down at her.

After a moment he put out his hand to help her out, talking as he did. "You might not be a baka," he said as she took his hand and he pulled her up sharply. Because of the fast movement, Ichigo's worn out shoes couldn't grip the floor, and she slipped again, clinging onto Ryou's arm as she did. The smile on his face grew a bit at that. "But your still a klutz."

Ichigo scowled up at him at the comment. She straightened herself up, though her hand still gripped his arm, just in case she slipped again. After a minute, and once she was sure she wasn't going to slip again, she released his arm. He hadn't complained that she had been gripping his arm. He just stood there, letting her use him as support until she could stand.

"Thanks," she muttered softly, not sure if he heard her or not.

"So what are you doing here anyways?" Ryou asked as he felt her release him. He hadn't heard her. He moved over to where he had set down the brown bag Ichigo had brought in. He quickly began pulling things out and setting them on the counter. He looked slightly confused by what he saw.

"All my friends from school are busy today," she said, then softly added, "and no one really realized I was back either." Ryou heard this and took note of it, planning on asking her about it later. Then she spun around and went into the fridge, beginning the task of throwing out everything bad. "And all the Mew's are off doing their own thing. So I thought I'd come here..."

"So why'd you buy all these groceries then?"

"I remembered a lot of stuff being old in your fridge, so I decided to waste some time and go get some groceries. I noticed you hadn't been to the store for a while now," she said, her head still in the fridge.

* * *

(Ryou's Point of View)

_She bought me groceries? This is Ichigo ... right ... _he thought as he continued to pull the newly bought groceries out of the bag. _Wow strawberry ... you've changed. But for better or worse ... im still not sure ..._

* * *

By the time she was done Ryou had pulled out all the groceries and was leaned against the wall. He had been looking over at her absently as she had worked. She was wearing blue jeans and a cute shirt with a cat and the words 'meow' on it. By looking at her, he could tell she had grown over the half year she was gone, but that wasn't what made him think about it originally. She cooked now, and didn't burn things when she did. She noticed he needed groceries, and without having to ask, got him all the things he needed. It slightly pained him to see her like this. She was more matured, and less of the old Ichigo. To him, it looked as if for the half year she was over seas, she was a house wife, something he didn't think she was right for. _I'll have to see if I can do something about that..._

"Oh," Ichigo said suddenly, going into her back pocket and pulling out his wallet. "I took this so I could buy the stuff, seeing as their your groceries and all. Plus, you have a job, not me," she said, smiling at him.

_That means she went into my room to get it..._

"Sorry I went into your room, but it was the only way." His faced scrunched up slightly as he realized she had seen his room when it was messy. Then he heard her say, "It's pretty messy in there. That's not like you at all..." then she paused, "...are you okay?"

He turned his head to look at her then. _She's asking me if I'm okay? What about her? She's the one acting strange ... not me. I think... _"Why don't you come see for yourself," he said suddenly, grabbing her hand and pulling her after him.

* * *

(Ichigo's Point of View)

Ichigo was shocked by those words. _Come see what? What is he talking about? _They came to the stairs, and Ryou made his way up, looking back quickly to make sure she wasn't falling or anything before turning back and continuing up the stairs. _Where are we going? What is he doing?_

She came to a stop when he opened up his bedroom door so she could look in. It was clean. Nothing like before, that's for sure. There was a basket over in the closet for dirty clothes, and all the clean clothes had been put where they belonged. The bedding had been pulled tightly and sleek. His computer counter was clean, the chair pushed in neatly.

She raised an eyebrow in question and turned to face him. She opened her mouth to say something, but she really didn't know what to say. She looked over the room again. It reminded her of that time when she had walked in on him. The placed had been barren, like it is now. She frowned slightly then. Before it had looked like her room, but now it looked like her parents. _Why am I suddenly upset? Before I had thought it weird ... and yet now I'm upset that he had cleaned it ... what's that about? _She wasn't sure which way she had liked it better. There were positives and negatives to both ways. _Neat, he was okay, but he was also like before, a little too grown up for his age_. _Messy, he was acting more his age. But that also meant that he wasn't acting like himself, and that something had obviously caused him to act this way_.

Ryou starred over at her blankly, the wall up in place. "Okay, I'm sorry, there's nothing wrong with you. Happy?" she said finally, still scanning the room. There was a hint of worry in her voice, but Ryou didn't hear it. _I still stand by what I said before. Something has defiantly upset him. He's acting stranger then usual._

"Yes," he said, though he sounded unconvinced by his own words.

"What?" Ichigo asked, hearing the way his voice sounded. She didn't know what else to say when she heard the way he had sounded there. It almost sounded like he was answering another question. _Is he happy? I mean really happy? It didn't sound like it from his voice. What has happened to you Ryou ...?_

Ryou instantly noticing how he had sounded, placing the wall up even more. "You asked me if I was happy with what you said, and I said yes," he said with a shrug, before turning and leaving the room, leaving Ichigo alone in it. She shuddered at being alone in there, and followed after him.

* * *

he he he ... i feel evil leaving it there ... that ending is sooo chilling if u ask me ... something about the way he acted there just didn't settle for ichigo ... what could it all be ... and what is with the dreams ryou is having ? are they just that , dreams , or maybe something more ...? who know ! I do ! he he he ... well anyways ... hope you people like this chapter ... its always hard to get the personalities write of the ever changing teens in tokyo mew mew ... (stupid mew mew power ... that name sounds soooo sailor moon ... and they made it look even more like it with the show ... grrr ... but still like to watch it ... O.O for people who have read book and watch the show ... they change the endin ! its different in a way ! i was like hell no !) gomen (thats sorry in jap)... im done now ... anyways ... going 2 watch star wars now ... hell ya ! cant wait ! so anyways ...review plz ... latterz 


	6. I'm Cooking Fried Rice Today!

**HEY ITS ME ! ... I'M BACK ! he he he ... hello everybody ... Nekoyasha101 here ... aka ... kayoko ... aka alycia ... so how is everybody ... hope everyones sieked for this ... cuz i am ! well anywayz ... i hope u all like this ... this is long ... seven pages ... and my editor meghan said that at times its confused ... but all shall be revealed over time ... patience my young padawine ... all shall be revealed in time ... latterz ... enjoy !**

Chapter 6  
**I'm Cooking Fried Rice Today!**

After the incident in Ryou's bedroom, (see last chapter if u don't remember) the two were distant in their own thoughts. Ichigo made some omelets, with an assortment of things inside, for the two of them to eat. After they were done Ichigo got called back home to clean the place for some guests that were coming over for dinner. She thanked him for hanging out with her and left. Of course, Ryou still wanted to question her about the many things that he had noticed about her, and she wanted to do the same. But they knew that would have to wait for a later day.

When Monday morning came, Ichigo woke to the smell of something delicious being made in the kitchen. She yawned and looked at the clock by her bed. 7:57. Her parents should have left for work a while ago. Puzzled, she crawled, literally, out of bed, landing on her face seconds later due to her sudden attempt to walk. Groaning, she pulled herself off the floor and stood in place, letting her body adjust to the feel of morning.

Light was coming in through her window, coming against her face and warming her. This woke her up a little bit, but she still was very tired. Even if you were to just meet Ichigo, you would be able to tell she wasn't a morning person.

"At least I used to be," she muttered to herself, sticking out her tongue at the thought. It was because of the cat genes that she had infused in her. Of course when it came down to it, at the very end, when her mew friends were leaving to go on their own adventures, she wished that they wouldn't. She wished that they would continue to hang together and be best friends. Of course she had done the same thing as them, going off on her own adventure with Masaya...

If anyone had been in the room she would have suppressed what she did next. She shuddered. The thought of all that had happened over the time she was overseas made her wish she had never left. These thoughts made her wish even harder that things had stayed the same. She would have even liked it if Kish, Pie, and Tart were still here. At least then there was something keeping the mews together.

Breathing in the smells of breakfast in the kitchen made her thoughts stray. She was still too tired to question who it was that was cooking breakfast. She was tired, her body was still half asleep, and she was now hungry. She slowly made her way out of her room and towards the kitchen, rubbing her eyes lightly in an attempt to get the sleep out of her eyes.

It was when she saw who was cooking in her kitchen that she rubbed her eyes, not just to get the sleep out of her eyes, but also to see if she was seeing things or dreaming still.

* * *

(Flash back to earlier in the morning...)  
**(Ryou's thoughts will be in this one...)**

Ryou had been awake for about an hour now. He had awoken around 6:00 from that dream again, still just as unclear and puzzling as before. Of course he couldn't go back to sleep after that, so he showered and got himself up. Going downstairs to get himself something to eat, he looked in the over stuffed fridge. _You bought way too much Ichigo ... baka. Now what am I suppose to do with all this food?_

Of course, being the morning person he his, Ryou's mind was actually working. _I'll take it to her. _He smiled at the thought of going over to her house and cooking. The sun was still down, and her parents were probably just waking up themselves. So he quickly decided what it was he was going to cook for the two, and gathered it together. After checking everything was there he left, not even worried what she would think of him. _Only problem is figuring out how to get inside to actually cook the stuff..._

He had pondered on the thought for a long time before he found himself standing in front of her house. He had walked her home from the café enough times to have remembered how to get there, but he hadn't thought he would be able to get there without having to think back into his memories of those later times. _Weird... I've never been here without Ichigo helping me find the place. Then how the hell did I manage to get here without even thinking about where I was going?_

After a while of standing on the lawn thinking about this, he heard the front door opening and saw who he guessed was Ichigo's mom come out and look over at him. She smiled and called him over, not even thinking that he might be some nutcase or something.

"Let me guess..." she looked him over as she stopped before him. "A few years older then Ichigo..." she muttered her thoughts out loud, "blonde hair, grownup look," she said looking at his clothes. He looked down at himself when she said that to herself. He was wearing a dark black pair of jeans, everything else was dirty, but he like how comfortable they felt and they made him feel less formal to the suits he wore to work. He wore a basic shirt, gray, with not a whole lot to it. He shrugged at his look; it was nice to wear in comparison to his work clothes.

"…You must be Ryou!" she said cheerfully, clapping her hands together when she found his name at last. She smiled at him when he looked at her with utter confusion on his face. "Ichigo tends to talk her mind a lot. She's told me about all her friends, you included." she said pointing at him, energy in her very step. She was remarkably like Ichigo. Ryou inwardly laughed, finally knowing where Ichigo got her energetic personality from.

"Sounds like Ichigo all right," he said, though she wasn't really paying that much attention to him at the moment. Her and Ichigo were two of a pair. She had moved the finger pointed at him to her face in an expression that showed she was thinking.

"Maybe you know something about why she came back early...?" she said then. Ryou jerked when he heard this. _You mean Ichigo hadn't planned on coming back early, or told her mom why? How the hell did she manage that? She can't lie worth anything. _"You might even know why she has stopped rambling on, or even talking period, about Masaya..."

Ryou was just standing there, a look of shock in his face. _Stopped talking about him? So now she's stopped talking about the guy. Something is definitely up. Why hasn't Ichigo let slip what's bugging her? She normally can't keep anything hidden. She hadn't lasted to long with the secret of her being a mew, and that was huge. Why then would she be able to keep this a secret?_ Clearly Ichigo's mom to the look for not knowing the answers to these questions, because she quickly moved out of the doorway and beckoned him in.

"So, Ryou-may I call you Ryou?" Ryou nodded. She was very polite. Somehow that trait had gotten lost on its way to Ichigo. "-Why might I ask are you here?"

"WHY ARE YOU HERE INDEED?" shouted a man as he came storming in the room, his glare drilling holes into Ryou as he looked over at Ichigo's father, a slightly shocked expression on his face.

"Well, sir-" he was cut off by the man who stood towering over him by at least a few inches, though it seemed higher to Ryou. This was Ichigo's father. He gulped. _Guess this is who Ichigo got her patience from_.

"I'LL BE DAMNED IF I'M GOING TO LET ANOTHER PUNK COME INTO MY HOUSE AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF MY DAUGHTER!" he shouted, clearing talking about Masaya. He didn't blame her father for what he had just said. Ichigo had come home early, totally different, and not wanting to tell anyone, not even her mother, about what had happened. _What did Masaya do?_

"Pardon me sir, but-" Ryou tried again, with no success.

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE NOW! BEFORE I KICK YOU OUT PERSONALLY!" he shouted threateningly, waving a fist in front of Ryou's face to emphasis how serious he was.

Ryou slightly paled then, looking at the entrance door, deciding whether he should make a run for it. Now he understood why Ichigo was always racing hope in hopes of getting back on time. It was so she wouldn't get on her fathers bad side, which he had somehow managed to do without even getting the chance to tell the guy his name.

_Come on Ryou! You used to deal with these types of guys all the time! You can handle Ichigo's father, right? _He took a deep breath, knowing fully what he was about to do. He outstretched his hand in a friendly gesture, hoping for a handshake instead of beating to the face. "Pardon me sir, my names Ryou."

Ichigo's father looked at him like he was crazy. The he put the hand he that had made a fist with earlier on his chin to emphasis that he was thinking, similar to what his wife had been doing earlier. "Ryou, Ryou... where have I heard that before?" he asked to himself, but looked over at his wife.

"Ichigo's old boss..." her husband still showed no sign of remembering him, "at the café..." still nothing. "He was the one she danced with on the cruse..." her husband still didn't remember, but he glared at Ryou all the same, as if saying with his glare 'touch my daughter in the wrong way and I'll...' "He's the one she's been hanging out with since she came back..." that got a small reaction. He turned and looked Ryou up and down, as if examining him. He still seemed slightly confused. "Oh! You should know this! He's the one Ichigo's always saying is a jerk and a meanie and whatnot." her husband remembered him then. Ouch! Being remembered as the jerk and meanie to his daughter heard both at the thought, and he was pretty sure her father might get even madder at him. He gulped at the thought, preparing for whatever might happen.

But instead of yelling, or bursting in some form of anger, like Ryou thought was going to happen, Ichigo's father took his hand in his own and shook his hand. "So it's you," he said smirking, remembering something that Ryou couldn't think of that would make him smile that like.

"Honey! You're going to be late for work if you hang around any longer!" she almost shouted as she pointed to the clock in the kitchen. Ichigo's father quickly rushed over to his wife, gave her a kiss, took one last look at Ryou, and then left out the front door for his car. Seconds later they could hear him backing out of the driveway and speed off towards his work.

Ichigo's mom smiled after her husband another moment before turning back to face Ryou. She put her hand to her chin in her 'thinking stance' from before as she tried to remember something. "So ..." Ryou looked at her, waiting for her to talk. Both her hand her husband were like older Ichigo's. It was kind of funny to think about it. "What was it we were talking about?" she asked, looking slightly sheepish about not remembering what they had been talking about before. Ryou sweat dropped (A/N: for people who don't know ... its either when they get those sweat drops on their head ... or they fall over in shock over something somebody said ... come on people standard manga / anime thing there...).

"You were asking my why I was here..."

She snapped his finger as she remembered what it was she had been trying to remember. "I was about to ask you why you were here." It appeared she hadn't even heard Ryou.

Ryou rolled his eyes. _I kinda just said that, but okay. _"Yea..."

"So," she turned her attention to him fully and smiled. "Why are you here?"

Ryou sighed, knowing she was just as stubborn as her daughter and that she wouldn't let him not answer her. "Ichigo has been making me lunch and breakfast for the last two days. She even got me groceries when she noticed that I hadn't gotten any. She did all this without me even having to ask her, not that I would have. But anyways, I saw that I had a little too much food, so I thought it would be a good thing to come and make breakfast for her for once," he said, then shrugged, trying to emphasis that it was nothing, though in his mind, meeting both her parents, and actually being in her house was only a little far from nothing. He smiled at his own thoughts.

All the while he was saying this Ichigo's mother nodded and said nothing. After he was done, and once he had shrugged, he let out a breath he hadn't noticed he had been holding. _Wonder what that had been about? Its not like I was trying to impress her mother or anything... am I?_ _No, of course not..._

He cued back in when Ichigo's mother started talking again. "Oh! That's sooo cute!" she squealed, then quieted herself again. "But Ichigo's still asleep, and I have to go and run some errands. I wont be back 'till the afternoon..." she trailed off, obviously in thought because she had returned to her 'thinking stance' Ryou had come to expect. "I don't want to ruin my daughters surprise, so maybe..." she looked at him then, almost like to see if he might give her the answer to her unasked question. "You should be able to take care of yourself. And I can trust you not to mess the place up, right..." Ryou nodded, though he didn't really understand what it was she was trying to get at. "Then I'll leave you here! Now you can be here to surprise Ichigo!" she said cheerfully as she got.

"Okay..." Ryou said, not knowing what else to say. He was slightly confused.

She smiled and went to finish her morning tasks. It was now 7:13. It was a good time to make breakfast. Hopefully Ichigo would wake up when he was done, and if she wasn't then, he planned to go wake her. He grinned at the thought. She would be sooo mad at him. _Sounds like a plan!_

After about fifteen minutes Ichigo's mother left for the market. _I really need to learn their names..._ Ryou was already in the middle of cooking several things at once. He was planning to make a lot. When he felt like cooking, and especially when it was not only for himself, he has always had a habit of making more then what was needed. Yet he never tried to lessen what he made. He had rice balls on the go, and he was also making breakfast style fried rice. And he also had strawberry smoothies ready to be made.

So that's what he spent the morning working on, in Ichigo's kitchen. _Wonder what she is going to think about this? _Ryou thought as he took the fried rice off the burner, the rice balls already done and ready to go. He was now working on the smoothies. _She'll probably be freaked, that's what. Oh well..._

That was when Ichigo appeared in the kitchen entrance, looking like she had gotten almost no sleep. He let out a very small chuckle at seeing her. _Definitely not a morning person, that's for sure. _He smiled when her jaw fall slightly and she rubbed her eyes. She looked so funny... so cute...

"What the...?" she asked as she walked fully into the kitchen. That was when Ryou got to fully see her pj's. Her hair lay messily down on her face as she stood before him in a pink tank top and pajama pants. He couldn't suppress the laugh that came this time either.

"What are you laughing at?" she shouted at him, both anger and confusion in her expression. She even looked a little embarrassed.

Ryou put his hands up in defense. "I mean no offense, I think ... I was just laughing at the way you looked when you saw me. But," he chuckled again, "you look really cute and cuddly in your little pink pajama's." He smiled at her when he said this. _Did not mean to say that! Crap! Not sure if that was the right thing to say... oh well, I guess I'll find out soon enough._

Ichigo stood there for a moment, like she was processing what it was he said. Then she turned a dark shade of red. "So," she said then, trying to avoid what he had said completely. "What are you doing in my house? How'd you get in here anyway?"

Ryou raised an eyebrow in question. Ichigo hadn't even mentioned anything about what he had said. _Wonder what that was about? ._thought Ryou, being the oblivious person he is. He shrugged then in response to her question. "You're mom let me in. After a," he cleared his throat at the thought of Ichigo's parents, "interesting conversation with your parents your mom left me here." He grinned, a very sly grin at that, "I can see where you get your angry temper from now."

* * *

(Change to Ichigo's point of view)

She stood there for a moment, trying to understand what he had been saying. He had said she looked cute and cuddly in her pajamas. She looked down at her pajamas. She was wearing her favorite pair of pajamas. Was he making fun of them, or was he serious. _Does that mean that he thinks I look cute? Or does that mean that in these is the only time that I even look slightly cute? _Either which way she thought about it, it brought a light blush to her face. Quickly she tried to change the subject. "So," she said, "what are you doing in my house? How'd you get in here anyway?" _And why are you cooking? And are you cooking for me, that's a strawberry smoothie after all..._

She saw Ryou raise an eyebrow in question, and hoped he didn't ask her about it. Then he shrugged. _So does that mean he isn't going to question me changing the subject on him! Yes! Saved!_

"You're mom let me in. After a," he cleared his throat, _what does that mean? _"interesting conversation with your patents your mom left me here." Then he grinned, _now what? Does he know something? Mom, you better not have said anything or else! _"I can see where you get your angry temper from now."

Ichigo scowled at him when he said that. But she knew it was true, her temper did come from her father. And a lot of the rest of her personality came from her mother. _I'm more like mom though. That's why I tell her almost everything. Wait? Ryou and mom got to talk? What if she told him something! Oh no! _Just as Ryou turned away to pour the smoothies into a two cups and dish out the rest of the food, Ichigo whispered softly to herself, "I hope mom didn't tell him anything..." She then looked at Ryou, who had apparently not heard seeing as he was trying to balance the cups on the plates so he could bring everything over at once. _And you call me a baka..._

"Here, let me take that," she said rolling her eyes as she grabbed the two cups and the utensils from his hands. "You're going to drop everything if you try to do it yourself."

Ryou shrugged and brought the plates over to the table, setting them down in front of two chairs. The two sat as Ichigo placed the cups down and handed him his utensils. _This is sooo weird. Ryou made breakfast for me? I didn't even know he could cook that good!_

"So why'd you do this anyway?" Ichigo asked before she dug into her breakfast. She was eying the food almost to check that it wasn't a trick or something.

* * *

(Ryou's point of view for a second here...)

Ryou rolled his eyes and shrugged. He didn't say anything, he just shrugged long enough for her to notice. He wasn't going to give her the same explanation as what he gave her mother. He couldn't have lied to her mother, although he didn't tell her the entire truth, but he was perfectly fine with lying to Ichigo. _That would be something, telling Ichigo the actual reason he was doing this. Even telling her the same thing I told her mother would probably freak her out. Though there's always the chance that baka strawberry wouldn't understand what I was trying to tell her. But if I did..._ as he drifted off into his thoughts he randomly grabbed a rice ball off his plate and began to eat it, saying, "I love rice balls," at the same time. Then he went back to his thoughts...

* * *

(Ichigo's point of view again...)

Ichigo glared over at him as she watched him pick up the rice ball and take a bite out of it. She had made rice balls for him once. She blushed lightly at the memory. "I love rice balls," he muttered to himself as he took another bite of the rice ball. _Didn't know that ... HEY? Then how come when I did make rice balls for him that one time he acted like he didn't want them at first? Putting up a tough act are we? Although he did just there say he liked them, and that time before he let it slip slightly when he had smiled at me and said it was pretty good. _The blush returned to her face. _Grrr... he always makes me so confused! What is your deal Ryou?_

"Are you going to eat it or do you think my cooking is that bad?" Ryou asked her, bring her back from her thoughts. _That's right, I haven't eaten anything yet. I probably seemed like a pretty big jerk not wanting to eat the food made for me._

"Sorry, I was spacing," she said, then realized she hadn't done anything to cover up her mistake. Ryou seemed puzzled by what she said, just as she was. Normally she would have said something like, 'Just making sure it would kill me...' or something like that. _Creepy..._

"Well, hurry up and eat," Ryou stated and then went back to his own breakfast.

Ichigo starred at him for a minute before answering him. "Why?" She was starring at him like he was nuts now.

"Just eat. You'll find out soon," he said as he smiled lightly in her direction. _What is this all about? Is he trying to surprise me or something? Grrr... I hate surprises!

* * *

_

(Change to Ryou's point of view)

Ichigo then proceeded to eat her breakfast at a fast, but seemingly slow pace. The food had actually been really good. His rice balls were better then hers, and they were still her specialty. He must have made them a lot when he was by himself. The breakfast of fried rice was delicious. And the strawberry smoothie! It was to die for! After she had tried it she took in as much of the taste as she could. Ryou said that later he would teach her how to make them. All he said was that they weren't made with just strawberries and yogurt.

Since he had made breakfast Ichigo would not let him do the dishes. So she stood there, cleaning them while he was talking to her, leaned against the counter between the kitchen and the table. He could tell she was used to cooking and cleaning the dishes. _Is this what she would do overseas? Be a housewife? Didn't she meet any friends? And what about Masaya? Sooner or later she's going to have to answer my questions, I just have to be patient and wait for her to be okay for answer them. I just hope that doesn't take too long..._

* * *

**so how did people like it ? i liked ...**

**kay ... so there are some things i need to clarrify ... when Ichigo's dad says ... so its you ... its kind o like forshadowing ... so plz people ... bare with me ... and then theres when her dad shouts ... "I'LL BE DAMNED IF I'M GOING TO LET ANOTHER PUNK COME INTO MY HOUSE AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF MY DAUGHTER!" he had jumped 2 conclusions about Ichigo coming back early ... he hasn't even talked to her about it yet ... neither has her mother ... she doesn't want 2 push it ...**

**u people will just have 2 wait for me to reveal all that is still to come ... but plz ... review ... tell me if anything is 2 confuzin ... ask questions ... startin this chapter im givin out awards ... so be prepared ...**

**Awards go 2 :  
notinsanejustmentallyunstable for beggin ... and tellin me i kept Ryou in character ... u get a cookie!  
inlovewithsesshomaru for short ... but VERY dramatic review ! ... u get a cookie 2 !  
keisha for being my editor and for scowling me for my grammer ... its the site i tell u ! its the site ! u give me a cookie !  
Angelic Ichigo for shortest review ! ... but it was still a good review ! cookie 4 u  
Any Mew Moonlight for saying im a good writter and demanding me 2 update ! u get 2 cookies !  
everyone else gets a cookie just for reviewing and reading this ! have fun and look forward to more awards and such ... so review and maybe ull get an award ... next time ... cheesecake ... who doesn't love cheesecake ... i made cheesecake 2 ... so plz update ... latterz ! BYE !**

**KAYOKO : AKA ALYCIA ... latterz !**


	7. Visiting the Zoo

**hey people ... gomen (sorry) that i haven't updated in forever . school finished , then i had summerschool 4 2 weeks (evil thing.. and i have 2 do it again next year 2 .. i hate religion) , and then i was at my cuzins cabin 4 another 2 weeks ... and then most of august i just haven't gotten around 2 doing it ... writters block is a fun little thing let me tell you . but anywayz , thnz 2 everyone who reviewed and i hope ur not 2 mad at me (prepares self 4 oncoming tomatos) ... well anywayz , i was trying 2 make this one realllly long 2 make up for it ... but 2 be honest , this endin was just 2 sweet of one 2 continue on .. 2 understand what i mean ur just goin 2 have 2 read it .. .. so yua .. everybody , enjoy .**

**btw. baka means idiot . i think thats the only japanese i slipped in here. gomen. oh , and gomen means sorry . ah , must stop talkin in japanese . bye .**

**NekoYasha101 .

* * *

**

Last time:

"Are you going to eat or do you think my cooking is that bad?" Ryou asked, bringing her back from her thoughts.

"Sorry, I was spacing," she said, then realized she hadn't done anything to cover up her mistake. Ryou seemed puzzled by what she said, just as she was. Normally she would have said something like, 'Just making sure it wouldn't kill me…' or something like that. _Creepy..._

"Well, hurry up and eat," Ryou stated and went back to his own breakfast.

Ichigo starred at him for a minute before answering him. "Why?" She was starring at him like he was nuts now.

"Just eat. You'll find out soon," he said as he smiled lightly in her direction. _What is this about? Is he trying to surprise me or something? Grr… I hate surprises!

* * *

_

Chapter 7

**Visiting the Zoo**

(Ichigo's point of view)

"So," Ryou said as Ichigo put the last of the dishes away. There had been an awkward silence ever since she started to do the dishes. She guessed he was thinking about something, so she had let him be.

She must have gone off into her own thoughts after that, because next thing she knew, Ryou had bent down a little so he was looking straight into her face and he was continuously tapping her on the head.

She suddenly shook her head, making him jump back a little from the fright she just gave him. "What was that about?" he asked, his voice laced with worry. The only response he got was her walking past him and fluttering her hand in dismissal.

"So what do you have planned for today?" she asked him, turning slightly to look back at him. He was looking hard at her. He could tell something had been bothering her.

She turned away from him, not wanting to see him while he looked at her that way. She could tell that he was worried, at least to a certain extent, but to what extent that reached she did not know. The only thing she did know was that she couldn't stand to see him looking at her like that. Though the look was meant as a glare, she could see the concern in his eyes. She just couldn't tell him, and she didn't want him worrying about something he couldn't fix.

"Well, you're going to go and get dressed first off," he said, a fix-everything smile on his face, though his eyes still held trace of concern in them.

_Oh God! _She shouted in her mind as she looked down. Indeed, she was still in her pink pj's. Quickly, she darted into her room, her face a deep shade of red. _Don't let him have seen me blushing! _She thought desperately as she dressed for the weather. It was nice outside, but it wasn't scorching either. Jeans would do fine. And a light t-shirt. So that's exactly what she wore, a light pair of blue jeans and a frilly pink t-shirt. After a quick glance in the mirror and an approving nod she opened the door and left the room, grabbing her cell phone and key on her way out.

* * *

(Ryou's point of view)

After she left the room, Ryou leaned back on the counter as he let his thoughts drift back to that of her earlier behavior. _That's two times now that she's spaced off. I know she's not a morning person, but she's acting really weird. The first time, she didn't even bother to snap at me like she used to. And then right there, after finishing the dishes, she seemed to be thinking about something she didn't exactly like. Right when she snapped out of it she started shaking her head almost violently, as if to make the thought go away. Whatever she was thinking about wasn't something she wanted to be. _He sighed then, _I'm worried about you Ichigo…_

A little while later Ichigo came back out. Seeing her in that outfit a few thoughts came into his head. The first was admiring her. She always looked good in pink. The second thought was what had him going though. He was thinking about this when she turned to look at him.

Now to her it seemed like he was starring at her, but in all honesty he was just trying to figure out what was different about her. She of course was a little older, but aside from that, he couldn't pin point what it was that was confusing him so.

"What?" Ichigo demanded, her voice coming out more worried than anything, startled by the look he was giving her. Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink.

"You're," he trailed of for a moment, his mouth moving without his knowledge now, "not wearing your necklace." When he stated this, his eyes when abruptly to her neck. It was true. Her neck was bare, free of any necklace, especially the one he was thinking of.

A second later he regretted saying that. He watched her as she looked at him for a second, and then slowly her hand rose to her neck. Instantly her face looked hurt. _Damn!_

Quickly Ryou pushed himself off the counter and took a step towards her, his hand outstretched, wanting to comfort her. _Dammit! Why did I have to say that? Baka!_

"Look, Ichigo. I'm sorry," he said, now almost at arms length from her. His hand was outreached; wanting to comfort her, to hold her close and help her get through whatever it was she was trying to deal with on her own. _Dammit Ichigo! I want to help you. There is no question now that something happened between you and Masaya._

As soon as he said that she seemed to come back to reality. Quickly she drew her hand away from her neck and looked at Ryou, who had stopped mere steps away from her.

"Its okay," she whispered softly, looked at him with a saddened look on her face. "It's not your fault."

"But-" he started, but she shook her head quickly, telling him no. _Man I wish I didn't suck at this comforting thing. Maybe then she'd confide in me a little more. Dammit! I'm just a stupid emotionless freak! _Quickly he directed himself away from the thought, reality as he would call it, and back to Ichigo.

"Just forget about it, okay?" she said, putting a fake smile on her face that he quickly saw threw. _Ichigo you know you can't hide this much longer… _"Now come on!" she said suddenly, grabbing his hand and pulling him as she went to the door. "You had plans, so we best get to them," she said when she saw his look of complete confusion and astonishment. She smiled then, a genuine smile.

He nodded, slightly dumbfounded, but all the same understanding that she needed more time before she would tell anyone. _Who even said she would tell you anyway? She has her parents and her friends. I'm probably the last person she would tell…_ He sighed lightly at his own clouded thoughts.

"So where are we going?" she asked, apparently having not heard him sighing just then.

He smiled softly at her then. "It's a surprise," he said with as much mystery as he could muster.

She glared at his when he said this. "I don't like surprises," she said stubbornly, as she locked the door to her house. Her mom wouldn't be back for a while and she didn't want to leave the house unlocked and empty.

"Oh come on," he said, grabbing her hand and directing her towards the park. After a moment or so he dropped her hand, blushing slightly and hoping to the god's that the shade from the trees had hid it. _God, why is it no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to fully hide my emotions when I'm with her?_

"The park?" she asked, puzzled by where they were going. She heard him laugh in front of her and knew her answer. The silence that followed that laugh was dreadfully painful. After a while Ichigo got annoyed with it and moved up to walk beside him. "So I hear you got a job?" she asked.

He nodded his response.

"Well," she asked, trying to get him to say more. "What of?" she asked when she got none.

"Teacher," was all she got. He thought he heard her as she scowled at him. He only responded by smiling weakly at her. He saw her then opening her mouth to ask more. That's when he felt the need to answer her. "Science, at a university."

Ichigo looked at him, with totally admiration on her face. "Good for you," she said smiling warmly at him. She knew that he had thought of becoming a teacher or a researcher after the mew mew project was finished. He had been more in favor of teaching, she felt.

They talked some more, about random stuff most of the time. Both avoided the subject of Masaya and her vacation. Though they had now exited the park they continued to talk. After a while they came to a conversation, by which way neither could remember, about how everyone, including themselves, has changed since the mew mews ended.

"Yeah, Keiichiro is off on his own adventure too. He's off studying somewhere. But when he gets back he's been offered a job at the university as well, though for different things," Ryou said, not really thinking it was a big deal, but apparently it was, because Ichigo gasped. He raised an eyebrow in question.

"You mean you've been alone all this time!" she demanded, stopping in her tracks to look at him. "Is that why you shut down the café?"

Ryou responded with a nod. He was slightly taken aback by her sudden worry for him. "And I haven't been alone," he said quickly. He didn't want her to know what he had really been doing the whole while she was gone. "I met some people from the university, though most of them are my students. But they're cool," he said, shrugging in an attempt to emphasis his lie into something believable. It was not.

"Oh Ryou," she said, her voice filled with sadness as she lowering her head. "I'm sorry."

He couldn't stop from laughing then. It was funny how the tables had so quickly turned. But ten minutes ago he had been saying sorry to her, about just as an uncomfortable a topic as this. He never liked to admit that he didn't have many friends, and when the only ones he knew all when always he had felt desperately weak. But never, for all the good it would do, would he tell anyone.

"It's not your fault," he said, copying her line from earlier. "Just forget about it, okay?" he said, his walls going up to keep himself from crumbling under the look he received for saying that. She looked like she thought it was all her fault, her face ashen with despair.

Without another word, the two turned together and continued down the rode, another awkward silence following.

They turned the corner and came to a halt out of the way of a large crowd as they gathered at the entrance of a place with gates as doors. The place was open to the air, no building boxing the place in. Of course, there were walls, but this way the place was open to the air and nature. Both of these things were needed at the zoo.

"I thought it would be cool to come here. They go this new exhibit. They brought in a bunch of cats, and I think a mere cat or two might be part of the place. I thought it would be cool to come check it out, see what run's through our veins and all," he said, still watching the crowd as they slowly made their way in. He stuffed his hands into his jean pockets and began to speak again, slowing turning to look at her at the same time, "So Ichigo, what do you-" he stopped when he saw the look on her face. It was the look of pure terror.

* * *

**once again , i just couldn't resist that kind of an ending . i think of myself as evil at this moment . what is it that is freaking ichigo out so? will we finally figure out what happened between ichigo and masaya? all these and more will soon be answered, maybe not in the next chapter ... but soon . dont u love me, .. .. i dont , but thats besides the point. so anywayz, coughcough on to the awards! **

**btw. people are askin , so im just goin 2 say this .. we do c kish again .. and maybe some other people , haven't decided who yet .. but kish definately .. if people want 2 put imput on who they want 2 c latterz , ill be glad 2 listen and take suggestions**

**okay, awards!  
_kagome1316 : _4 the smallest possible review that is the very self explanitory and not confuzin . (review was : PLEASE! UPDATE!) simple eh ? (note the canadianess there)  
_M&Mchick_ : 4 being very random at the end there (P.S. RYOUxICHIGO ROCK 2GETHER! P.S.S. I like pocky! (don't ask) XD) ... all i can say, ... nicely done ! )  
_Mew Melon_ : 4 basinghalf of her review solomly on , cheesecake. (i love cheesecake! yummy! - wipes away drool-) .. nicely done ).  
_wolf-girl87_ : 4 ranting a bit, then jumping 2 tmm stuff way off topic. my answer : TOTALLLY ! curse the baka of a company that thought they need 2 make it MORE like sailormoon . i mean , grrrr . they changed like everything . its sooo annoying , and even harder 2 follow when uve read the books. curse them waves fist in air  
_notinsanejustmentallyunstable_ : for wanting the cookie , short review , then ... well , read (m...cokie...great job keep updating yesh yesh! wait...wht kind of cookie!) .. i guess whatever kind u want. though kiesha sent me a chocolate chip one when i demanded one from her . though afterwards , she ended up shovin it down my throat ) . not litterally ,metaphorically speakin. and she did all this through the computer. gasp .. im done now ..  
_Kiesha_ : 4 being stupid ) (jokin meg.) and then 4 going back on word about ... well , ness .. u know what im talkin about! .. u actually might not , so u might want 2 go read ur own review meg. )  
**

**i give cheesecake just like i promised. and theres even a small icecream for anybody who doesn't like cheesecake (if there is even anybody). enjoy ! everybody gets some ! pig out ! joins in cheesecake ... drools... **

**bye . NekoYasha101 .**


	8. Can I Ask You For A Favor?

**I am sooo sorry about my lack of updating. As I said in the author's note i deleted to put this in, the show that they aired 'Mew Mew Power' was so unlike the book that it just threw off my interest. It wasn't until my friend keisha told me to at least write an author's note to my fans (if I have any still) , telling them why I hadn't been able to write. For some reason or another (my other half probably knows better-her being the perfectionist and all) I started writting up this chapter on saturday, because I had nothing else to do. Sad, I know, but all the same, this chapter was made. Hopefully you people will forgive me. I'm sorry,and I hope to continue working on this story again. Read, and again, sorry.**

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* * *

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Last Chapter:

"I thought it would be cool to come here. They go this new exhibit. They brought in a bunch of cats, and I think a mere cat or two might be part of the place. I thought it would be cool to come check it out, see what run's through our veins and all," he said, still watching the crowd as they slowly made their way in. He stuffed his hands into his jean pockets and began to speak again, slowing turning to look at her at the same time, "So Ichigo, what do you-" he stopped when he saw the look on her face. It was the look of pure terror.

* * *

**Chapter 8  
Can I Ask You For A Favor?  
**  
(Ichigo's point of view)

Ichigo could feel her heart beginning to quicken as she starred at the name of the place Ryou had brought her. She could hear Ryou talking unknowingly to himself about something; about what she didn't really know or care at the moment. Flashes of memories past by her face before she could banish them away.

Flashback  
(A.N. _flashbacks are from book one of manga, if anyone wants to know_)

She was going to the zoo with Masaya. No strings attached, they were actually going on a date! "Aren't they cute, Masaya?"

"Oh yeah, whatever." Masaya was being really different that day…

"Oh look! That's the nocturnal animal exhibit. Masaya, let's go." It was so dark in there…

"Masaya? Where are you?" She was really freaked now, and that was when Masaya appeared from behind her…

"Ichigo!" That had sure surprised her…

"…I thought I'd lost you for a minute." He was really acting strange. Something was wrong…

"Let's go!"

"Huh? W…Wait!" She couldn't understand, was he mad?

"Hand…You're holding my hand."

"I don't want you to get lost." Something was making Masaya act all weird…

End Flashback

"Masaya…"

* * *

(Ryou's Point of View)

Ichigo looked like she was on the verge of tears! He couldn't understand what it was that was making her so emotional. One minute they walking in silence after an uncomfortable chat about him being left alone, and the next they were standing in front of the zoo…

_I am such a baka! Damn my stupidity! _The zoo was what was making her so emotional! This was a place where she shared memories with Masaya. Of course coming here would remind her of that time. It's more then likely these memories will lead to something that happened overseas…if she lets her mind drift that much. _Damn!_

Ryou's hand rose from his side, moving slowly and cautiously to her shoulder. His hand made contact with the fabric of her t-shirt, but he got no response…

He gave her a light shake, but again she did nothing to signal she had noticed. Her pink eyes were clouded over, memories no doubt consuming her mind. He still couldn't believe he had brought her here. He really did feel like a jerk at this moment. I_'m sorry, strawberry._

He was snapped out of his self loathing by Ichigo's eyes. They were alit, no longer clouded over. She took a sharp intake of breath, and tears came to the corner of her eyes.

"Masaya..."

_Damn! _He wished he hadn't been right, but it appeared he had. There was nothing he could do now, accept get her away from there. With no further delay he grabbed her hand and started pulling her back into the park.

He was huffing from the exertion of running while pulling a doll like Ichigo along with him. He quickly placed her down on the nearest bench, checking behind him as he did to make sure they couldn't see the zoo from there. It wouldn't do any good if she could still see the place.

Ryou flopped himself down on the ground, a huff escaping him as he tried to catch him breath. He had run a long way to get them away from the noise of the zoo. It was quite loud now that he thought about it…

* * *

(Ichigo's point of view)

Ichigo had handed candy instead of payment to the little acrobat Pudding before they walked away. Then, a second time, she saw Pudding after Kish had interrupted her time at the zoo by making some of the animals start attacking her. That was when she had first officially met Kish, though she didn't exactly want to meet him that officially.

Flashback

"What about a cat?" Came a voice from above them, Pudding still latched on her in the excitement of seeing her cat ears.

"I wanted to see the human trying to sabotage our plans. But you're pretty cute!"

"Who are you?" she demanded. That was when the cloak fell on her.

"Wha…?" she was lost, and couldn't stop Kish from kissing her.

"My name is Kish. Thanks for the kiss." That was when she first met Kish…

* * *

(Ryou's Point of view)

"Kish…"

His eyes snapped over to Ichigo when he heard her mention the alien's name. _Now I'm confused…_He thought she had been thinking about Masaya, but unless he had misheard her, which he doubt he had, she had said the alien's name. _The baka is too confusing for her own good…_

"Certainly he can help!" Ichigo shouted abruptly, jumping up from her spot on the bench, only to have her knees give out on her. Ryou had jumped up second after she did, fear and confusion evident in his eyes.He quickly helped her back onto the bench and took a seat beside him, turning her face so that she was looking at him._ Kish can help with what?_

"Ichigo…"

* * *

(Ichigo's point of view)

Kish! He would be able to help! He knows more about the whole situation then any of us do… Well, Ryou might know something about it, but if I ask him, he will question me, and I can't answer right now. I don't even know myself, fully.

_Ah! This is so confusing, and I haven't even gone too deep into the situation yet!_

"Kish…"

But Kish would know something. He was involved in it before, so he must have some knowledge. He has to help me! He just has to!

_But how do I find him? How am I supposed to get his help if he is on a different planet, building his own life? Surely he would come though; this is Kish we are talking about. He's helped me before; he would help me again. Right?_

"Certainly he can help!" Ichigo found herself shouting as her body jumped up in the adrenaline of the moment. Quickly though, the rush left and her knees buckled, leaving her with no support for her body.

She wasn't entirely sure how, but she found herself back on the bench she had been sitting on. _But wasn't I in front of the zoo? When did I move to sit on a bench? _That was when she felt someone grab her chin and directing her face to the side.

"Ichigo…"

Noises ignored before came rushing back to her all at once, all competing to be heard over the other.

Again the voice came, clearer then any other noise…

"Ichigo…"

_Ryou… _she had forgotten he was with her. He was the one that had brought her to the zoo in the first place. _But why am I not angry at him for it? _Ichigo quickly found she was telling herself it was because Ryou had good intentions. They were both infused with the genes of the cat, and he had only wanted for her to see them. If it had been anywhere else, she would have actually been excited to see them. His intentions were good. _Stupid Ryou…Can't even get mad at you…_

"Strawberry, you answer me right now! You're starting to freak me out…"

Ryou might know a way to contact Kish. Maybe. _Wait, is he worried about me? This is news to me…_

His voice took on an entirely different tone. It was solemn, paniced and uncertain. "Look, we can go somewhere else. I'm sorry; please just snap out of it. I'll make you whatever you want! I'll buy you ice-cream! Just…come back…"

_He's probably thinking about when he was alone for all that time. Half a year, alone! I wouldn't be able to stand that! And Ryou isn't the type of person to make a lot of friends, so it must be hard for him to lose all the friends he just made… Everyone needs at least one friend.

* * *

_

(Ryou's point of view)

"Just…come back…"

Everyone left him half a year ago, and now here he was sitting beside the one person he wanted to see the most, and she couldn't seem to even acknowledge his presence. It was all his fault too! _Baka, did you really think you could keep something close to you? Most things fall away before long. You should have learnt you lesson by now…_Ryou gave out a heavy sigh._ I'm such an idiot!_

He wasn't able to continue his attack on his self-esteem because he was interrupted by someone latching onto him.

"I'm sorry," Ichigo spoke into his shirt, her voice filled with sorrow. He could hear her sniffling, but he wasn't sure if it was because of the memories, or something else. He wasn't even sure why she was saying sorry? _What is she saying sorry for? I'm the one that just put her through all that! I am the one that should be saying sorry! That baka!_

"I'm…sorry. We shouldn't have left you alone…"

_What? Where is this coming from? Surely she hadn't heard his rant about her coming back…She had still been out at the time. Right? _He knew one thing for sure, if she had, he would die of embarrassment!

"Maybe…if I had stayed…" She sniffed again, stayed silent for a minute. "If I had stayed, maybe the rest of the gang wouldn't have left. Then you wouldn't have been alone…"

* * *

(Ichigo's point of view)

Her crying surface began to rumble after what she said. Ryou was laughing. _Why are you laughing! _She knew that he would answer her silent question, so she simply buried her face into his shirt more.

"You shouldn't think so highly of yourself strawberry. It's not good for you ego," Ryou said, laughing again. Ichigo scowled and promptly glared into his shirt.

He sighed then, as his right hand found its way into her hair, where he began to run his fingers through. The action itself was rather soothing for her, aside from the fact that her face was glowing red; a factor she was thankful he couldn't see.

"They all had dreams and lives to live. I couldn't expect everyone to stay just because I would be alone. Sure I would have liked if you hadn't gone away, but if it meant everyone else putting their dreams on hold, I'm not sure I would have been able to do that…"

Ichigo sighed and nodded into his shirt, showing that she understood. _But I still feel so bad…_

He seemed have read her mind, for he continued. "You better not be feeling bad for me. You're here now, so there's nothing to feel bad about."

She finally pulled her head away from his slightly damp shirt. Tears were still rolling down her face and in the corner of her eyes. She smiled up at Ryou, content with his answer.

* * *

(Ryou's point of view)

He smiled down at her in return. He was proud with himself for making her smile. Though things had been gloomy, and they hadn't even gotten to the topic of Masaya yet, Ryou felt that making her smile, for even that one moment, was worth him telling her some of his feelings.

"Now," he said, his voice dropping, knowing there was no way to avoid it any longer. _How do I go about this though…Do I mention Masaya, and hope she will tell me about it? Chances are it's too soon though, so that wouldn't be the best idea. _"Why is it you need Kish's help?"

* * *

(Ichigo's point of view)

She had liked the way the conversation was going before he said that. Kish led to Masaya, which led to depressing thoughts for Ichigo.

"Um…" She hesitated, wondering how she was supposed to ask Ryou for help in finding Kish. "Would you do me a favor?"

A quick look at Ryou told her that he was considering what it could be she would ask for. She would have to be quick if she wanted to get him to do this for her. She would have to do something in return for him…

"Well…" Ryou started to say, but Ichigo quickly jumped in.

"I'll tell you why I'm back early if you help me," she said quickly, without thinking. Surprised eyes looked back at each other. _Well, I guess that works…But now I have to tell him! Way to go girl, you totally just set yourself up there!_

"Sure…" Ryou answered, his voice laced with surprise and wonder. She could tell he had wanted to ask about her early return. It was only concern for upsetting her that kept him from asking. "So what is it you need?"

* * *

(Ryou's point of view)

Ichigo laughed nervously, telling Ryou right away that there was a good chance he wouldn't like what she was asking. Maybe that was why she offered to tell him that; because there was such a high chance that he wouldn't do it.

"Can you help me find a way to contact Kish?"

* * *

**bumbumbaa!**

**Anyways, I'm finished updating this. I wasn't sure about where to leave you guys off at first, but I though that since I left you people alone for so long, I would end it with a little cliffie. Only a little one. Lol. Anywho, I really enjoyed writting this. I was bouncing all around afterwards, waiting for my editor to come check it. Then of course she tells me it's fine and I don't need to change anything. Welll..lol. No worries, love you still Keisha. Anywho! If anyone notices any mistakes feel free to tell me. This site often melds words together, because I do use word. So yeah, that wasn't my fault. But spelling mistakes and such.**

**Wo0t! It's up! So, since I haven't been able to look at all the reviews from my previous chapter, you all get treats. I cannot remember for the life of me what it is you were suppose to get, so you all to pick from an assortment of cookies and donuts. Wo0t. I soooo call Boston Cream Supreme. The ones with the wipping cream, not the banana filling. That stuffs nasta!**

**Um.. Anywho, hope you all are satisfied with this chapter. I hope I will update soon, but exams are coming up and all. Then I have summer school, so I will strive for getting another up before that all starts. Might be a push, but I will try. Bare with me here, first year of high school is always difficult.**

**Bye-byez,  
Ja-ne.**

**Nekoyasha101**


	9. Hello Mr Floorsan

**HUGE A/N: I AM SOOOO SORRY. As before, Toyko Mew Mew has had less of a draw to me then before. However, there was also the slight problem of my beta reader never actually reading this chapter. But, because it's been SOOOOOO long and because I've had this in my documents for like MONTHS now and I have yet to do anything with it, I have decided to just post the damn thing. Lol. So if anybody finds any errors, please inform me. I went through my old chapters and It's pretty bad. Lol. I obviously need to improve my typing skills. Oh well. Anyway, I might have a chapter 10 on my computer at my fathers, but if I don't I'll have to redo the damn thing. However, I hope to have some free time do at get back into doing this story. I still love these characters, and I do want to finish this story. It might not be as good or long as I had originally intended, but I do hope to still get this jist of it out to you readers. I do want to share my idea/story with you guys.**

**Anyway, I hope you guys will forgive my HUGE absence. I do hope to get back into writing this story. Do forgive the long time between chapters. I am working on it as best as I can.**

**Now, ONWARDS ...**

**Chapter 9**

**Hello Mr. Floor-san**

Last time:

Ichigo laughed nervously, telling Ryou right away that there was a good chance he wouldn't like what she was asking. Maybe that was why she offered to tell him that; because there was such a high chance that he wouldn't do it.

"Can you help me find a way to contact Kish?"

--

(Ryou's Point of View)

She had to be kidding.

She did _not _just ask him to find Kish for her.

But she did…

Ryou's brain was on overload with this one. Here they were-after a mental breakdown on Ichigo's part and a rather embarrassing confrontation about his friends list over the last few months-and she suddenly has the need to get in touch with old enemies. An enemy who lives light-years away for that matter! _I must be missing something here._

In his confusion all he could do was stare at Ichigo with blinking eyes and an open mouth.

To her credit, Ichigo quickly picked up on his confusion and stepped in to persuade him further. "Once he's here I'll explain everything and you can question me all you like."

Ryou snorted in reply. _I most definitely am NOT going into a situation with Kish, knowing less then him. But why would she want to confide her problems in him?_

(Ichigo's Point of View)

After adding her last point of persuasion, Ichigo waited in agonizing silence while she tried to read Ryou's face. He had given a quick snort in response, but she couldn't be sure if it was to indicate that she had better, or if it were something else. She couldn't read his mind, but with his walls down from their previous conversation she could easily read his most forefront emotion: hurt.

Of course she hadn't been expecting this. Shock, yes. Anger, most definitely. But hurt? Looking away sharply, she studied a piece of trash on the ground, both comforted and not by his openness at that moment.

Ichigo fidgeted as she tried to shift through her thoughts. What was his reason for being hurt? _It couldn't be…_Up until then she hadn't really thought about it, but in looking back he had been really patient with her, never pushing her on the subject more then needed. _And here it must seem like I\m asking to confide in another. I must have made it seem like I would only tell him out of necessity…What a jerk I am, and after he's been so kind to me these past few days. _An image of him laughing at her state of attire flashed past her eyes. W_ell, mostly._

She was snapped out of her self loathing when Ryou spoke in a neutral, business like tone. "If you want to reach him, I'll need to know why. It's not a simple matter, with him being in another galaxy." He stated this while he looked at her blankly, clearly whipping all his emotions from his face in favor of keeping them from her. His walls were back up.

At his statement Ichigo let her shoulders fall in defeat. Of course he was right. _He normally is. _With a sigh she moved her eyes from the spot on the ground she had been staring at to look pleadingly at him. "I wouldn't be asking you for this if I though me and you could handle this ourselves. Kish or Pie would be the only ones who could possibly have an accurate insight on this!" She grasped a fist full of his shirt, clinging desperately and looking up at him through watering eyes.

Ryou sat rigid, staring at her through hallow eyes. She could tell he was putting all his force and strength into reining his emotions in. In response her other hand grabbed a hold of his shirt, and she pulled him down to her eye level as she tried to get some reaction out of his.

His face turned from hers…

She let out a choked sob, tears finally breaking from her control and streaming down her face. _I must make you understand! You NEED to understand me Ryou!_

"I can contact them back at the café, but I'll still need to know what's going on before they arrive," he said, speaking low and slow, as if the words pained him. His head was still turned away from her.

All she could do was nod.

--

(Third Person)

They sat in the kitchen, elbows propped on the counter, as Ryou booted up his computer. The walk back from the zoo had been long and silent. There was no conversation, both participants afraid of where it would lead, and neither knew what else to say. Even as they waited patiently for the computer to start, neither could muster the will to start the impending and inevitable discussion they knew they would need to have.

Finally Ryou got up, going around the counter and into the kitchen to disappear from Ichigo's sight. As soon as she could no longer see him, he spoke. "So, where does your tale start?"

"I-I…" Ichigo stammered. She let her head fall down limply, an act that portrayed her exhaustion. There was the sound of a cabinet door opening and closing.

"Is it really that hard to talk about?" was his next question, his voice still eerily neutral.

"H-Hai," was all she could manage to say. The tension was suffocating her…

The sound of a door opening and the soft, steady hum of the fridge filled the empty space.

"And it would be easier to talk to Kish." Ryou stated in a tone that told her he was not asking a question.

"Gods no!" came her quick reply, as she shook her head, still having not been raised.

The humming receded as the door was closed again, followed by a shuffling of clothes as Ryou reseated himself beside her. After letting out an exasperated sigh, Ichigo looked up.

A bar of chocolate sat innocently in front of her.

A weak smile spread across her face as she plopped a piece of the milk chocolate into her mouth, attempting a laugh as she turned to Ryou. "Thanks."

Ryou nodded in response as he flashed her a fleeting smile, meant to comfort her. It was apparent what emotions he was feeling right now, the foremost being confusion. His walls had fallen again. Apparently she had answered his pop quiz to his liking…sort of.

"You know…" she began as the computer screen opened to his desktop, "I could really use-"

Her words broke off as Ryou slid a bowl of strawberries across the counter to sit in front of them. She let out a sharp hysteric chuckle then, as her tears escape her eyes again to stain her cheeks as she launched herself at him, knocking both of them off their seats to hit the floor with a jolt.

Neither felt the hard floor beneath them…

(Ryou's Point of View)

They sat-more like half laid-on the cold floor that was steadily being warmed by the noon sun. Neither made to move, Ichigo's shoulder shaking as she cried into Ryou's shirt while he steadily stroked her hair again. This time though, he wasn't sure how he would be able to comfort her. Last time he'd been able to get her smiling and laughing after admitting his situation and making a few jokes at his own expense. This time however…_I don't even know WHAT the situation is!_

Ichigo laughed gruffly, tears still flowing freely, as she spoke in a low, unsteady voice. "I came here first, right after I got back." Ryou looked down at her, her head still buried in his shirt, her words slightly muffled. He was sure he still heard correctly, but…_Did she come looking for me?_

"I came home looking for security, and I knew it'd find it here…" _What about her family? Her mom said she normally talks to her about everything…And what about the Mew's? She could have easily contacted Mint. _She looked up at him then, and gave him a teary smile. "I came here, knowing I'd find that security in you. I knew you would look after me, keep me safe. You always did, and I guess I took that for granted before. I'm sorry."

He starred down at her, shock clear on his face, as she smiled again and reburied her face in his shirt. He heard her inhale and then sigh, almost like _that_ had been the hardest part. _I doubt that. _His right arm tightened around her as he continued to stoke her hair with his left. He didn't know what to say, but…_She came to me! ME!!_

Her head remained down, but he could almost feel her smile through his shirt, and he could have sworn he heard it in her words as she spoke. "I know for certain you're going to give me the whole 'I told you so' speech," he snorted, positive that if she said so, he would, "but ever since I discovered the differences in Masaya-" both flinched slightly at the name, "-all I've wanted to do is hear you call me strawberry and tell me how much of a klutz I am."

She laughed again, and Ryou felt her bring a hand up to whip the tears from her face. He couldn't stop the content laugh from escaping him, his joy overwhelming, even in the face of the impending conversation they would soon have. SHE wanted to see HIM, just as HE wanted to see HER. He hadn't been entirely alone in his loneliness, and…_If I'm lucky, maybe she'll stay this time…_

"Of course, THIS is a plus," she stated as her hands linked around his waist and she pulled herself in to hug him, her face still pressed into his shirt. She inhaled again, letting out a content sigh as she did so.

_She…_

At this point, Ryou was sure his heart had stopped beating from the shock. Either he was dreaming, and in that case he didn't want to wake up, or Ichigo shared some of the same feelings as he did. Here they were, sitting on the hard floor, as he hugged her, and she was RETURNING the hug!

She released him so that she could look up at him. He stared back at her, still flabbergasted by all that was happening. When he heard her laughter, his eyes refocused and he looked at her, raising an eyebrow as he did. She giggled more in response.

"What?" he asked her, shocked smile still in place.

Ichigo shook her head, laughing again. "Nothing."

"Come on, tell me?" he asked again, moving his face closer to hers in the intent of making her flustered and uncomfortable. His strawberry really was predictable…

Or not.

Her grin broadened when he brought himself closer to her. She moved herself forward, no hesitance in her movements, as she gingerly placed her lips to his for a moment before pulling away.

The grin returned as she looked at him while he digested what just happened. His eyes were still wide with shock, and his mouth hadn't moved since he had felt the pressure of her lips upon his own. A hand felt the urge to rise up to his lips to confirm that this was in fact reality, but he resisted. They still tingled.

_Holy! What just…She just…! Holy!_

At this point, Ichigo's mind had jumped in to fill her with doubts. Her smile fell a little, and her eyes shifted nervously. Her hands went to the hem of her shirt, where she twisted and pulled the fabric in an attempt to diffuse her nerves.

"Sorry. I-I shouldn't have done that. Just, forget that every happened," she ranting, her eyes looking everywhere but at him as she attempted to move away. Ryou held tight. "I'm sorr-"

Her words were swallowed by the lips that crashed down on hers. A hand at the back of her head pulled her down, not that she was refusing. This time it was her who stared wide eyed as Ryou pulled away slowly, eyes half lidded and a cocky smile on his face.

If this is what dillusion and insanity gave him, he'd take it.

"Flustered, are we?" He taunted, laughter in his words.

"I…You…We…" she stammered in response, trying to connect what just happened.

"Yes. _We_," he stated in reply, liking what the 'we' implied. _Together… _The cocky and proud smile still played across his face.

In response to his words her eyes took on a happy hue-which he hadn't seen in a _long_ time-and she laughed giddily. A light blush stained her cheeks, showing her innocence and modesty in these kinds of situations. As the reddening built, she left the need to bury her head in his shirt yet again.

"May I ask what is so interesting about my shirt?" he asked in a playful politeness.

"It smells like you," she said without lifting her head, and apparently without realizing what she said, because seconds later her face heated up again.

Ryou let out a rich laugh in respond, one of his hands going up to entangle in her hair as he ran his fingers through it. _This_was something he had been dreaming of, where he and Ichigo would simply snuggle together and enjoy the others presence. Never, had he actually thought Ichigo would return his feelings. Sure he had hoped and dreamed, but because of Masaya being _perfect_ he saw no room for her to have feelings for someone as imperfect and defective as himself.

_Maybe she just hasn't realized it yet…_

(Ichigo's Point of View)

She was still concerned for him. Right now he seemed fine-happy even. It made Ichigo even happier to know that she helped him; gave her warmth knowing he had accepted her advance, and even shared the same feelings.

Her stomach was fluttering right now. She had felt fluttered and flustered before, with Masaya, but it had never been a comfortable feeling. Always, when she felt these particular emotions around him, she had felt awkward and confused. It had always been Masaya who acted to erase her emotions, or at least put them in the back of her mind for a while.

With Ryou, as she snuggled up to him and breathed in his scent, there was a fluttery, flustered feeling, but she was content and relaxed. If issues weren't pressing, Ichigo knew she could easily fall asleep like this. And that was something, considering her difficulties in falling asleep next to Masaya…_But that's because I KNOW him now. _Even without HIS influence he was very different from how he presented himself before. Now,well now things are just out of hand…

The combing of his fingers through her hair was soothing, drowning out her thoughts as her eyes got heavy. If he kept at it much longer, she feared she really would fall asleep on him. _Now that would be something. How would he react to that...?_

Smiling, she looked up at Ryou, who was off in his own thoughts. She could guess fairly easily what he was thinking at that moment. Ryou, by nature, had a very low self-esteem. Add on all that has happened in his life, along with his difficulties in communicating with people and making friends, and as a person he doubts himself a lot. Ichigo could be fairly certain that Ryou was the type of person who belittled himself and constantly had difficulties allowing himself to be happy.

_He probably suffered a lot when he was alone. Half a year! Anyone would suffer, but add on the stress of teaching people that are probably his age and the fact that all his friends left, and he must have felt hopelessly alone. Abandoned even._

"You will tell me all that's happened to you, won't you?" she asked meekly, not wanting to discomfort him.

In response, all she got was a sigh of resignation. He knew she would continue until she had pried all the information from him. She grinned.

"You will tell me what happened in London, won't you?" he questioned in return. In response she could feel her grin disappearing.

At his words, she became aware of her surroundings. The hard floor, warmed slightly from the sun, lay beneath them, where she could feel herself getting sore. The kitchen and café lounge was silent and cold, anticipating what was looming ahead for them, as if it knew something they didn't. The buzz of the fridge suddenly assaulted her ears, breaking her mood and filling her with a feeling of unsteadiness.

"Masaya…he-" she started, but was cut off as the café door was opened rather forcefully. The sun outside blinded the two from seeing who it was momentarily. Ichigo let out a sigh. "You really should learn to lock your doors…"

Ryou shrugged in reply. "No one comes here anymore. There was never a need."

Just as Ichigo was going to retort with a comment about burglars the person in the door stepped forward and shouted in a voice drenched in fury, "ICHIGO!"

(Ryou's Point of View)

Ryou's hand stilled in her hair, and his veins ran cold as he finally identified the person in the doorway. There, standing with white fists and a face contorted with anger, was none of then the person they had just been discussing. Here was the person who, in the eyes of everyone but himself, was perfect; someone who never got angry and who cared deeply for everyone and everything. Here, before them, looking like he was going to kill someone, was Masaya.

Ryou could only stare in shock at the sight before him. This was not the Masaya he knew. He had seen through the guy's _perfect_ personality to what he was before, but it was always under layers of being 'the good guy'. This person here was letting it show to the world around him. He clearly didn't care if people saw his true self, and the emotion that he was feeling right then: anger.

He was surprised when he felt Ichigo grab his face and turn it to face her so that she blocked Masaya's view of Ryou. Her hands were cold and clammy, her face dreadfully white while eyes wide and scared starred at him pleadingly. Ryou was baffled by the change in her. Just minutes ago she had been glowing with happiness, and even though seconds before Masaya came she had been discomforted and a little upset, she hadn't been like this. They had even joked when the doors were first opened…_before she realized it was Masaya!_ _Gods, what DID he do?!_

"Run."

_What? _It was the only thing going through his mind. Run? He didn't know what to say, other then…"What?"

"Take your laptop and RUN!" She almost yelled in her fear. She was shaking now…

_Was she joking? Why would he need to run? _"What? Why? Why would I need to-" he started, but was cut off when she placed a finger over his lips. She was looking behind her now, at the person he could see approaching. He could almost feel the hate and angry flowing off of his person.

"You need to contact Kish! He has to know that-" she had started to explain, but was interrupted as Masaya gripped her shoulder. Seconds later she let out a pained cry as his hand put pressure on her tender skin.

"Woman, did we not already say that you would do no such thing?" Masaya asked in a chilling voice, one Ryou couldn't even recognize. As if only just noticing Ryou, though he highly doubted he had, he turned and glared down at him. "So this is the one you tried to call." He stated, rather then questioning. His tone and poster did not allow room for an answer.

His gaze shifted back to Ichigo's to give her a withering, disgusted look. "We thought he had explained sufficiently that you were to not go near him."

Ichigo's eyes were still fixed on Ryou. "Run…"

At the statement, and her lack of response to him, Masaya lost his patients. With a quick flick of his arm he threw Ichigo to the side, where she skidded a little before coming to a stop in a heap of clothes and limbs. In that long moment as she flew through the air and hit the ground roughly, not a noise left her, like this was a practiced and frequent event. _He did NOT!_

"Ichigo!" Ryou shouted as he started to get up to run towards her. Unfortunately, Masaya had other plans as he stepped in front of Ryou to block his path.

"I think not. You will not go near what is ours."

Ryou stared up at the person in front of him. Masaya had NEVER taken to claiming Ichigo; he just didn't seem like that type of person. Even Ryou, who saw him for who he really was, hadn't thought him to be that possessive. _Something isn't right. _Abruptly, everything Masaya had said came back to him. _We, ours…_

"I am NOT yours!" Ichigo shouted heatedly. _Of course she would never let anyone claim her._

"You are mine, and are you not his?" Was Masaya's retort, his eyes shifting over to look at her with that same cold gaze. She shrank back for a moment under the intimidating look before she regained her composure.

"I am neither of yours!" she shouted as she got to her feet and stood defiantly.

"We are leaving. Come," was Masaya's only response.

Ichigo's eyes darted over to Ryou, who was half standing, one knee still on the floor. Quickly he got to his feet, intent on making his voice known. "Ichigo may leave when she feels like it. Not before, or by any force of yours."

Her eyes continued to stare at him, sending a silent plea for him to run. Masaya ignored him and made a move to grab her, with the intention of leaving. Desperation and fear crept into her eyes as she took a step back and shouted over to him. "Ryou!" Upon realizing her words, she looked stricken, as if she felt like she had just condemned Ryou.

In response to her call, Ryou moved a step towards her, hand going out as if to grab for her.

Masaya whirled on him, his hand grabbing his and throwing Ryou to the ground, similarly to how he threw Ichigo, except Ryou was almost certain his hand would be bruised and sore later. Again, he started to get up when he was interrupted; this time by Ichigo.

"Masaya and Deep Blue share a body now! This is Deep Blue," she shouted, pointing at the body of Masaya. "Masaya is just as bad, just without the strength!" Her voice took on a desperated, yet defeated tone as her eyes darted back to Ryou and she yelled in a harsh, self-loathing tone, "He's too strong! There is no hope of besting him." Her eyes watered as she watched Ryou's stance shift to attack, and she shook with the force of her fear for Ryou. "No, don't! Run, call Kish!"

At Ichigo's declaration 'Masaya' turned his advancing back to Ryou, walking with a stance that clearly spoke of arrogance and confidence. He would not be brought down. "You should have kept your mouth shut, woman! We realize what this pathetic creature is capable of accomplishing. He will need to be eliminated now." he spoke in an even tone, though his voice was roaring with outrage and anger.

(Ichigo's Point of View)

_I should never have involved him, never told him. Now I am responsible for ensuring that Ryou does not pay for my fears and idiocy_.

Ichigo stepped forward again, every trace of fear gone from her at the prospect of her mistake. _I shouldn't have told him, but I didn't know how else to deal with 'them'._And this was Ryou...everything about him made her feel safe and secure. With him by her side, Ichigo knew she could count on him watching over her. Aside from the dire need to be with him and the safety he provided her, Ichigo had also been certain that Ryou and her would be able to accomplish more then she could alone. Her hope had been that together they could com up with a way to deal with 'them'.

Either way, she would protect Ryou in whatever way she could. _I will do better this time..._"And you will not hurt him!"

Deep Blue didn't turn around or stop his current course of movement. He moved with slow, confident strides, knowing full well that he couldn't be stopped. Ryou gulped but stood his ground.

Seeing him not deter, Ichigo ran past him and stood in front of Ryou with her arms outstretched as if to shield him. "If you hurt him, I will not go with you."

Deep Blue let out a low, sinister laugh as he replied. "I can make you."

Ichigo smirked then, having predicted his next move. "Masaya will not approve, and we both know you need his consent to remain in complete control," she stated, knowing full well what she was doing.

(Ryou's Point of View)

Ryou gaped at Ichigo's bold statement. Clearly she'd had to deal with this situation before. _What more did she go through? How long has she had to bend to their will?_

Deep Blue scowled at her, obviously displeased by her declaration. Fortunately, after a lengthy pause in which he continued to glare at Ichigo, he finally relented and turned to glower at Ryou. "You will not go near her," he stated, with the underline threat clear to those present in the café. With that, he grabbed Ichigo's wrist and dragged her along with him as he exited the café doors.

The last that Ryou say was Ichigo looking back and giving him a look that clearly showed she was frightened. _Ichigo…How are we going to get you out of this mess??_

**Any questions or corrections, please inform me. I hope the chapter makes sense. I've gone over it a few times to try and ensure it, but without my beta to give me a fresh perspective, I'm walking with a visibility of three feet so to speak.**

**Thanks to anybody who reads this. I really am not expecting a lot, so to anybody who actually makes it to the end to read this THANK YOU !! **

**Okay, sleep time now. It's 12:30 and I have a test first thing in the morning, and I know for a fact tomorrow is going to be a good day to stay away. I didn't make it through today, thats for sure.lol. I had to take a nap before I could get to this. Twas a good nap, although I freaked for a minute and thought it was tomorrow...or should I say today considering what time it is.**

**Toodles. I hope to see me soon. Lol.**


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